'The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart' review: Drama a slow but rewarding burn
Aug. 2—"The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart" is a tale consumed by fire and fury, fueled by anger and abuse and soaked in pain and pathos.
A Prime Video series debuting with the first three of its seven hour-long episodes this week, this nicely crafted and at times emotionally draining adaptation of Holly Ringland's best-selling debut novel of the same name is propelled by lies told and secrets kept, however well-intended they may have been.
Spanning several years and set against the gorgeous Australian landscape — with the continent's wildflowers and plants playing a continuous thematic role — "The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart" begins in the country town of Wyuna. There, we meet the story's ritual character, played at 9 years old by Alyla Browne ("Nine Perfect Strangers"); her pregnant mother, Agnes (Tilda Cobham-Hervey, "Hotel Mumbai"); and her father, Clem (Charlie Vickers, "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power").
At first, theirs seems an idyllic existence. On a stormy night, Alice is told — again — of the story of her birth, and the three dance to rock music. However, we quickly learn Clem has a dark side, one that takes a physical and mental toll on the females in his life.
Sally Morgan (Asher Keddie, "Nine Perfect Strangers"), a librarian in town, becomes concerned for Alice's well-being, insisting her cop husband, John (Alexander England, "Alien: Covenant"), pay the Harts a visit.
Before the table-setting first hour concludes, a major event changes the course of Alice's life, and we are given the distinct idea that Sally has a history with the Harts about which John knows nothing.
Alice goes to live with her paternal grandmother, June (Sigourney Weaver), about a 100 miles away at a rural property known as Thornfield. It is a place where wildflowers bloom and honey is made that, June believes, can cure anything.
It is also a place shrouded in mystery, at least at first.
Thornfield is run by June and her partner in life, Twig North (Leah Purcell, "The Legend of Molly Johnson"), and it is home to their adoptive daughter, Candy Blue (Frankie Adams, "The Expanse"), as well to other women June and Twig refer to as "flowers."
When Alice arrives, she is not speaking following the aforementioned event, but she makes friends with a kind-hearted 10-year-old boy, Oggi (Luc Barrett). She soon attends school, where it becomes clear some in the area don't know what to make of Thornfield and the women who call it home.
At the beginning of the fourth installment — set to debut Aug. 11, the first of four weekly single-episode drops — it is clear years have passed, as Alice is now portrayed by Alycia Debnam-Carey and appears to be in her 20s. A furious Alice storms out of Thornfield, taking an impromptu road trip that leads to a job as a National Park ranger. (She is, after all, an expert when it comes to Australian flora thanks to her upbringing at the farm.)
She is immediately taken with another ranger, Dylan (Sebastián Zurita, "How to Survive Being Single") — they actually meet before she gets her job, and the devilishly handsome gent charms her before walking away. From the moment she encounters Dylan, you can't help but fear Alice is doomed to enter into a romantic relationship with him that will prove to be abusive. (This feels a little too obvious of a plot development, but it's also understandable that Ringland may have wanted to say something about the cycle of abuse many people sadly experience.)
Meanwhile, June, who at this point is consumed by more than her guilt, over choices she's made when it comes to Alice, is desperate to have her return to Thornfield, as are Twig and Candy.
"The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart" was developed for the screen by Sarah Lambert ("Lambs of God"), who wrote or co-wrote all but the penultimate installment, and every episode is helmed by Glendyn Ivin, director of the emotionally satisfying 2020 film "Penguin Bloom." As a result, there's an unmistakable consistency to the episodes, "Alice Hart" playing like a long movie in the way we hope all such series adaptations of novels will.
The show moves slowly but is well-paced, Ivin, Lambert and co-writers Kristy Fisher and Kim Wilson giving all of that pain and pathos — as well as the fire — space to breathe. (The second half of the series drags just a bit, and you could sell us on the idea of the story being better told in six hours rather than seven, but it never reaches the point of feeling bloated.)
Nice work is turned in by both Alices, with Debnam-Carey offering a performance far stronger than most of what she has been able to accomplish over the years with the uneven writing of "Fear the Walking Dead."
And although June arguably is a supporting character, Weaver ("Alien," "Gorillas in the Mist") anchors the show as she embodies the complex June. While we are always meant to like Alice, that isn't necessarily the case with June, who makes questionable choices in the name of doing what she believes is best. In the hands of a lesser actor, the character may have come across as too villainous, and the show benefits from that not being the case.
Ivin and Lambert risk confusing the viewer at times by showing too little of occurrences both in the present day and in the flashbacks peppered throughout the series. However, trust that all the pieces to its puzzle will fall into place before we reach the series' poignant, message-filled final minutes.
"Alice Hart" for a while feels like a series that's more about its journey than its destination, but that's not the case — at least not entirely. Regardless, that journey is one worth taking.
'The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart'
What: Seven-episode hourlong drama series.
Where: Prime Video.
When: First three episodes available Aug. 4, with subsequent installments debuting once per week on Friday.
Info: Amazon.com.
