The mystery series is like a British version of The White Lotus, but with a dash of Twin Peaks. Essential viewing.

Summerwater, one of our favorite shows of the year so far, will be made available to stream for free on Channel 4 from this weekend.

Based on the hit novella by Sarah Moss, the series begins with the police investigating a devastating fire at the titular rural and secluded Scottish holiday park. The cops are questioning the four groups of British vacationers present at the time, as well as the Eastern European family that works there.

After this introduction, the show settles into a unique structure. Each episode takes place in the same 24 hours leading up to the fire, but focuses on a different character or group of characters.

As we learn more about everyone’s reasons for being at Summerwater and the simmering tensions that spark amongst the park’s attendees,the story builds to a “devastating climax”.

Summerwater Review

Summerwater’s premise, focusing on the different guests at a holiday spot, has already drawn comparisons to The White Lotus.Actually, the series also shares a cast member with the HBO hit in Arnas Fedaravičius, who played the hotel liaison Valentin in season three.

That said, having seen all of its six episodes, we feel comfortable stating that the tone and structure of Summerwater sets it apart from its contemporaries. Almost akin to an anthology, each episode of the Channel 4 thriller turns the attention to a different guest or group of guests, flashing back to the traumatic moments of their past pre-Summerwater.

We then witness how these events have led the characters to the rural Scottish holiday park and influenced their behavior while there.

This inventive narrative not only deepens the mystery as to who or what started the fire, in that nearly every character feels like a powder keg ready to blow, but it also creates a disquieting, heartbreaking portrait of disconnection.

As the show progresses, we come to witness a pattern of characters being so focused on their own troubles and so locked into their own perspectives and viewpoints that they struggle to notice or communicate properly with their fellow man. These missed connections slowly accumulate, eventually snowballing into disaster.

Also boasting sharp writing from John donnelly (Glue, Utopia); moody, stylish direction from Robert McKillop (Guilt) and Fiona Walton (Shetland); and powerful performances from both more established actors (Dougray Scott, Shirley henderson, Valene Kane) to those less famous (Anna próchniak, Calum ross, Shereen Cutkelvin), Summerwater is several things at once.

It’s a great whodunit. It’s a sobering portrait of division in modern-day Britain, but also the dark side of human nature.

There’s even a touch of dark magical realism, with one character theorising throughout the show that Summerwater’s woods and lake could contain an ancient energy, one that forces those who visit the area to confront what they’ve been repressing.

This suggestion adds a gorgeous but foreboding, haunting quality to the s

Margot Robbie Created a Safe Space for Vulnerable Performances in ‘Saltburn’

Margot Robbie’s directorial approach on ‘Saltburn’ fostered an environment where actors felt comfortable taking risks and delivering deeply vulnerable performances. This is according to Rosamund Pike, who praised Robbie’s ability to build trust on set.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Pike explained how Robbie’s confidence as a director allowed her and other cast members to explore challenging emotional territory.

“I always feel like if the script is good and the director is someone that you trust, then you can just lean back and relax into it, which I did.”

“I think that’s the magic about Robbie, when you have a director that you trust so much – and we all trusted him – you allow yourself as an artist and an actor to go to places that feel kind of scary.

“When you have someone like Robbie who’s just holding you so, so tightly yet so loosely, and is like: ‘I’ve got you, but try whatever’, then you can do some vulnerable stuff, and I think Dougray does some really incredibly vulnerable stuff.”

Northern Irish actress Valene Kane

Kane and McKillop also bonded over their love of movies.

“Obviously,Robbie directed my episode in which I’m on screen most of the time,” she explained. “So, we had a very, very close relationship.

“He’s a huge movie buff and I’m a huge movie buff, so we would talk like: ‘What should we shoot today in the style of?’

“Obviously, we’re massive fans of Lynne Ramsay, and I’m a massive fan of Jonathan Glazer, and