‘Untamed’: Eric Bana Brings Raw Emotion to Moody Yosemite Thriller

Alci Rengifo

Detective thrillers are again becoming a major TV vehicle to comment on American society. Netflix’s “Untamed” is set in Yosemite National Park, one of those vast and open spaces that can define American adventure and danger all at once. Creators Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith don’t follow the expected narrative path of using the setting for a sweeping saga. Instead, they craft a murder mystery that is rugged but also atmospheric, even personal. Eric Bana and Lily Santiago are its strongest touch. Together, the actors manage to bring gravitas to roles that avoid becoming standard murder mystery clichés. The crime they need to solve encompasses their own haunted psyches.

The inciting incident is a memorable opening scene where two climbers make their way up a massive summit, El Capitan. Suddenly, a woman’s corpse hurtles down from high above, left dangling in climber ropes. Chief Parker Ranger Paul Souter (Sam Neill) arrives on the scene with Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), who is technically a rookie though she is transferring over from the LAPD. Their collection of evidence gets interrupted by the arrival of National Parks Service Special Agent Kyle Turner (Bana), a quietly aggressive sort who clearly rubs people the wrong way. Examination of the body reveals this Jane Doe was shot in the leg before going down that rock. She also has a golden X tattoo on her wrist. The hunt for answers will soon encompass local politics (corporate types don’t want to scare off tourists) and personal matters like Turner still processing the tragic death of his son at the hands of a predator.

“Untamed” is a cousin of series like “True Detective,” where gritty crime solving leads into existential drama. Yosemite itself isn’t portrayed as a picturesque dream but more like a haunted place with saturated colors. The search for Jane Doe’s identity lingers in the first episodes over the material that reveals who the main characters are. Turner isn’t a hardened soul out of nowhere. His marriage to Jill (Rosemarie DeWitt) was shattered by the loss of their child. A heartbreaking editing technique finds Turner looking at the stars at night with his son, only for us to discover it’s an illusion. He makes late night calls to Jill, talking about meteor showers as if they were a family again. She has found a new husband yet doesn’t necessarily have the will to completely push Turner away. Turner finds escape through drinking, which doesn’t stop him from being an efficient agent. Clearly, work keeps him going while alcohol numbs the pain. Neill’s older Souter tries to be a decent superior and friend to Turner in trying to protect him from the park bureaucrats who don’t want negative headlines. 

To the credit of the writers, Lily Santiago’s Naya proves to be just as engaging as Turner. She’s given actual layers. Instead of just being a mere rookie, she too has a past. In Los Angeles she met the father of her 4-year-old son. We gradually learn the relationship was abusive, which is why Naya decided to make a fresh start in a place as different (and far) as Yosemite. She soon starts receiving text messages from her ex, warning that he can’t be ignored. Mark L. Smith also wrote “The Revenant” for Alejandro González Iñárritu, and some of that intensity of people involved in standoffs with nature as the background is present. A slight flaw is that the Native American characters rarely have lines that don’t carry a mystical tinge, as if being an Indigenous character automatically should mean you can read the stars and utter prophecies. 

As the plot continues to unspool with suspects, cryptic calls and a few more dead bodies, “Untamed” stays engaging mostly on the level of its personal dramas. The final twists do give answers, even one shocking twist involving Jill that feels slightly overcooked. Some painful story elements should just be left as haunting brushstrokes. The death of Jane Doe is also revealed to be quite melodramatic. It’s on the road to these answers that Bana excels with one of his best recent performances, creating a hard-drinking man with a badge who is driven by demons that are believably grounded. Lily Santiago is also good enough that if Netflix decides to do a follow-up, she could surely carry it. “Untamed” succeeds in bringing more to the table of a genre we think we know by heart.

“Untamed” begins streaming July 17 on Netflix.