Prime Video’s Australian Original miniseries “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” has been out for one week now, and don’t bet against its lead actor, Jacob Elordi, and director, Justin Kurzel, working together again.
In a recent Variety AU/NZ interview, Elordi had high praise for the esteemed Australian filmmaker. “It was my literal dream and it was a case of why you should meet your heroes,” the “Saltburn” star said. “I hope I get to make many films with Justin [Kurzel]. He creates such an immersive experience on set and he ensures that it’s as true as it can possibly be. It’s an actor’s delight.”
Elordi went further into the behind-the-scenes process of Kurzel and his crew, revealing the “trust” that he and his co-stars felt working on the series.
“{…] we had a two week rehearsal period where we just sat around a long table, drank coffee, did movement, talked about the dialogue and talked about our own lives. There’s a space that you kind of have to enter if you’re going to make something like this and your attempt is to make it real.”
Elordi singled out his co-star Odessa Young, calling her “the kind of actor that wants to live in that space with you.”
Kurzel’s previous outings include the grisly “Snowtown,” his directorial debut based on the shocking “bodies in barrels” murders, and the disquieting “Nitram,” which traced the events leading up to the infamous Port Arthur massacre.
Read more insights into “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” from Elordi, Young, and Kurzel here.
An adaptation of the Booker Prize-winning novel by Richard Flanagan, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” is a love story set against the backdrop of World War II.
Elordi portrays Lieutenant-Colonel Dorrigo Evans and co-stars with Young (“Mothering Sunday,” “Shirley”). Ciaran Hinds (“Belfast”) plays the older version of Evans.
Flanagan’s novel, published in 2013, chronicles a century dominated by war, with forced labor on the Thai-Burma Railway and a brief love affair as its dramatic heart.
The story is told over multiple time periods by an Australian doctor who was taken prisoner during World War II and became an unlikely and uncomfortable hero after the war’s end. The journey moves from the doctor’s’ childhood, through to his experience as a prisoner-of-war on the Thailand-Burma Railway as a young man, and later in life, as a respected surgeon and Australian war hero.
“’The Narrow Road to the Deep North’ is a love story to sustain audiences through the darkest of times, an intimate character study illustrating the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity, and an investigation into a marriage and an unforgettable love affair,” said Prime Video in a statement.
“The Narrow Road to the Deep North” is produced by Curio Pictures, with Jo Porter and Rachel Gardner serving as executive producers. Flanagan, Shaun Grant, and Kurzel are also executive producers, with Alexandra Taussig as producer.
All five episodes of the Australian Original series are now available to watch on Prime Video in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.