Anna Torv delivers another strong and persuasive performance in Dustfall, a six-part crime drama that is less interested in the mechanics of a sexual assault than the social conditions surrounding it. The ABC series, adapted from Vikki Petraitis's novel The Unbelieved, follows Detective Antigone “Tig” Pollard as she investigates the case of an 18-year-old girl found naked in a Queensland cane field.
A detective returns to her small-town home
Tig has relocated to the town of North Gap, living in the house of her recently deceased grandmother – to the chagrin of her mother Olivia (Juliet Stevenson), who wants it sold – and feeling emotionally drained after a bruising, high-profile rape trial. When 18-year-old Edie (Zoe Phillips) is discovered with very limited recollection of the previous evening, Tig has another disturbing investigation on her hands.
The show deploys familiar genre elements but avoids feeling formulaic, thanks to the intense thoughtfulness brought by director Emma Freeman and her writers (Beatrix Christian, Dianne Taylor, Belinda Chayko and Stuart Page). They use Edie's rape to examine a wide range of orbiting themes including institutional and societal misogyny, victim-blaming and complicity.
A clever whodunit with a social point
Weaving all this together while maintaining a sizzling momentum is no easy feat, though Freeman has previously demonstrated her ability to steer morally sophisticated, psychologically charged productions such as her immigration detention drama Stateless (co-directed with Jocelyn Moorhouse). Dustfall has an emotional pull not commonly found in detective dramas.
When Edie's story spreads, a nurse at the local hospital (Alice Ansara) observes: “It's feeling a bit like that case on the beach.” This line is delivered naturalistically, though there's no hiding its narrative significance: there's more going on here than a single isolated crime. As the plot thickens and the suspect pool widens, the whodunit format is cleverly used not just to keep us asking questions, but to make a point that almost nobody is beyond doubt when problematic attitudes towards women – and outright misogyny – are felt virtually everywhere.
Twists, fakeouts, and a rock-solid drama
There is a difference, of course, between problematic attitudes and shocking crimes, which the writers acknowledge while also arguing that they're part of the same system. One small but telling moment occurs when a police investigator examines footage from a pub and asks: “What sort of a bloke drinks lime and soda?” He's misguided from an investigatory perspective – Tig's police partner Remi (Bert LaBonté, also excellent) informs him that such a drink order potentially provides many clues and leads. But it's the gendered nature of the comment that sticks out; the patriarchal thinking that seeps into everyday language and behaviour.
On top of all that, there's no shortage of twists and fakeouts in Dustfall. The recurring presence of a python slithering around Tig's home, with all the symbolism that slides around with it, feels perhaps just a touch on the nose. But this is rock-solid, socially conscientious drama, imbued with weight and thought.
Dustfall airs 8.20pm on ABC TV on Sundays, with all episodes available to stream on ABC iview. It will air in the UK on the BBC at a later date.
