THE SLAP
The Slap is pure opera. Deft, assured, never needlessly noisy, yet throbbing with the vicissitudes of human entanglement: lust, rage, nostalgia, envy, cruelty, it at once sweeps you along mercilessly and yet never hesitates to become circumspect in a quiet by-water. Handled by the same production company as the very excellent Rake, it dismantles Christos Tsiolkas’ novel of the same name in nine, hour-long chapters each focusing on a character involved in the complex fall-out resulting from an incident at a 40th birthday barbecue. A child is slapped and the lives of Hector, Aisha, Harry, Rosie, Anouk, Connie and Richie are changed forever. Performances from a stellar ensemble cast – Essie Davis, Lex Marinos, Sophie Okenedo, Alex Dimiatrides to name a few – round out what is overall the best slice of Australian TV since, well, Rake. (AB) ****1/2
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