THE LAST ANNIVERSARY

Based on Liane Moriarty’s 2005 novel of the same name, this Australian drama takes place on fictional Scribbly Gum Island. When journalist Sophie (Theresa Palmer) inherits a house on the island following the death of matriarch Connie (Angela Punch MacGregor), intrigue surrounds her choice as beneficiary. Several of Connie’s family members still live on the island and are fiercely protective of their secluded home. Scribbly Gum itself holds secrets surrounding the disappearance of an immigrant couple Jack and Alice, who are presumed dead, and their abandoned baby, Enigma (played as an adult by Helen Thomson), who was taken in by Connie and her sister Rose (Miranda Richardson) five decades earlier. The discovery of Enigma is known as ‘The Baby Monroe Mystery’ and is treated like the greatest unsolved crime case on the planet. The island’s residents profit off the story, hosting paid tours of the shack where Jack and Alice lived. As Sophie digs into the family’s hidden past, she opens up old wounds and uncovers truths that have long been buried. Filmed in the Hawkesbury River region of NSW, the landscape provides a stunning backdrop but the series itself falls short. The acting feels wooden and unconvincing, with the exception of Palmer, and the script lacks any suspense or depth. There are too many subplots involving a dozen characters for anything meaningful to stick. The end provides adequate conclusions for the different cluttered storylines, but feels rushed. A mundane muddle.