With Sam Neill, Brooke Satchwell and Brendan Cowell, Foxtel’s starry new series has its moments but feels like it is working too hard to hold your attention
n courtroom dramas, all eyes are usually on the lawyers – the silver-tongued pursuers or enemies of justice, navigating a complex and flawed system. Early in Foxtel’s 10-part series The Twelve, Sam Neill’s snooty member of the bar, Brett Colby, is speaking to his client Kate , a photographer who has been charged with the murder of a teenage girl. Her appearance will be crucial during the trial, because, Colby says, leaning forward: “The jury is everything.
As Georgina drives, we hear a radio journalist report on the “first day of a murder trial that not everybody agrees is a murder”. The body of 14-year-old Claire has not been found, and the prosecuting attorney, Lucy Bloom , claims “the only reasonable explanation” is that Claire was dumped in Sydney harbour. It’s a risky move for the writers, with every courtroom moment potentially undercut by cynical viewers entertaining the possibility that the murder victim might not be dead at all.
Something is off about the relationship between Georgina and her husband, Jamie , and Corrie is obviously hiding some secrets, maybe tied to her family and affluence. The first two episodes don’t give a lot away; nor does the show establish a particularly strong foundation for its characters. The jurors are part of the focus, but so are all the people in their lives, particularly their romantic and business partners.
Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morningAnd despite being in monochrome, 12 Angry Men feels tense and hot, set during a day of scorching temperature. This is visually illustrated in the usual ways – shots of fans and sweat-splotched clothes – but it also speaks to the bravado of the writing and its intense character-driven conflicts. The Twelve, on the other hand, feels bright, airy and aesthetically unexceptional.
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