'Untamed' review: Smart, compelling murder mystery set at Yosemite

WHAT IT'S ABOUT A murder mystery set against the vast expanse of Yosemite National Park, the six-episode limited series "Untamed" stars Eric Bana ("Munich") as Kyle Turner, a member of the National Park Services' Investigative Services Branch.

The show begins auspiciously, with two climbers scaling El Capitan, the park's famed summit once prominently featured in the Oscar-winning "Free Solo" documentary. As they're precariously clinging to ledges far above the ground, a woman's body is hurled over the edge and sends them flying backward, testing the strength of their climbing ropes.

Turner, a veteran with extensive experience at Yosemite and a difficult past, teams up with newly arrived ranger Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago) for the investigation.

Co-stars include Sam Neill as the chief park ranger Paul Souter and Rosemarie DeWitt as Jill Bodwin, Turner's ex-wife. The co-creators are Mark L. Smith ("American Primeval") and Elle Smith ("The Marsh King's Daughter"). While it looks and feels like Yosemite, "Untamed" was filmed in British Columbia.

MY SAY This is the sort of rich and rewarding drama, rife with complications, that seems to merit a six-episode treatment.

It works in the most fundamental way. A viewing of the first two episodes establishes a mystery that raises questions with few obvious answers, and generates enough interest in where the plot is going to merit sticking with it. That's hard to do in a genre that's otherwise overcooked and overused, with a seemingly endless amount of similar series across the streaming universe.

But most importantly, "Untamed" has more on its mind than the basics. 

It shows the ways in which life looks and feels different when it's set against such a majestic setting. Below the vast skies, amid the soaring sequoia trees and expansive peaks of the Sierra Nevada range, everything seems magnified.

There's a cinematic sweep to the way this is presented, even beyond the gripping opening scene. It has an immersive quality that's relatively rare among its streaming counterparts. Made for Netflix, "Untamed" would have been right at home on a big screen. 

Still, the creators remain consistently focused on the small, personal details.

For Turner, a personal tragedy becomes inescapable. By day, he's tough and smart and capable. But in the early morning hours, as the stars fill the sky in all their unspoiled splendor, he's surrounded by nothing but his memories.

Bana, a terrific actor who has been giving great performances for decades, finds the essence of the character in those moments. He emphasizes quiet and restraint, showing us a person who has been irrevocably shaped by this landscape and all that it contains.

Even when Turner gets the sort of lone-wolf, tough-guy investigator moments that one might expect out of a procedural like this, there's the sense of a lot being left unsaid.

BOTTOM LINE It's a smart and compelling drama, with some great acting and a real sense of place.