"Yearning score and standout performances": Fans' reaction to The Narrow Road to the Deep North speak highly of its creative display 

Amazon Prime Video's latest Australian miniseries, The Narrow Road to the Deep North, debuted on April 18, 2025. Based on the author Richard Flanagan's book of the same name, it recounts the true and harrowing tale of World War II prisoners of war.

Flanagan wrote his Booker Prize-winning novel in 2013, partly from his father's experience in WWII, where he was captured by the Japanese and forced to work on the construction of the Burma Death Railway in 1943.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North stars Jacob Elordi as Dorrigo Evans (based on Flanagan's father), a celebrated war veteran plagued by the horrors of war and his shortcomings during that time. The show also stars Odessa Young, Olivia DeJonge, Heather Mitchell, and Ciarán Hinds in main roles.

The show, which currently holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is being praised for its realistic and brutal portrayal of war horrors. A Reddit user praised the show as follows:

''Beautiful, yearning score and standout performances from Elordi, Ciaran Hinds, and Thomas Weatherall''

More on The Narrow Road to the Deep North's fan reviews in our story.

Reddit users praise Amazon Prime's The Narrow Road to the Deep North for its harrowingly accurate visuals

Amazon Prime's The Narrow Road to the Deep North captures a harrowing tale about the horrors of World War II. While the show does a great job of bringing Flanagan's war story to life, Reddit fans have been praising it for its creative display.

Being a story set in WWII, The Narrow Road to the Deep North does not shy away from depicting the war's harsh details, which might even distress some viewers.

Reddit user u/Sufficient_Pizza7186 praised the show for its unique approach to war films and how it leaves the viewers in the end, by portraying such extreme realities:

''I love that it doesn't give into the 'exciting' or cinematic cathartic moments that usually make their way into war films. Even the war film story beats. You think will feel satisfying end up being complicated and tough.''

Some Reddit users also commented about the war scenes, which were a little too realistic and brutal:

''The war scenes are brutal.'' u/beattiebeats

''One scene I almost got up to vomit. It was so gruesome and too realistic.'' u/Used-Paramedic-9102

''It was really good but I cried like a baby it’s definitely rough at parts due to war violence.'' u/Relevant_Stress1804

A Reddit user, u/Barton5877, commented that watching The Narrow Road to the Deep North was challenging but rewarding nonetheless. While the war brutalities depicted in the show are harsh at times but they paint a true picture of the horrors war prisoners suffered during WWII:

''It's unflinching in its brutality and tragic in it beauty, and whilst being a truly difficult watch at times rewarding perhaps for being so. I can only say thank you to the showrunners for plowing forward with what must have been a difficult sell and an arduous undertaking. It's really a work of art, visually and emotionally.''

Another Reddit user, u/anonymousgreent commented how Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North resonated with them and would live with them forever:

''I turned the volume down all the way during that scene and hid the screen with my hand while sobbing and repeating “oh my god”. Truly devastating. It will live with me for a long time.''

The title of the show is taken from Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō's travel diary Oku no Hosomichi.

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Also Read: The Narrow Road To The Deep North ending explained

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