The Airport Chaplain review: flying high with Hugo Weaving

Raging atheist that I am, I’ll admit to flinching a little at The Airport Chaplain, the title of this new SBS show co-created by The Clearing and Stateless scribe Elise McCredie and producer-turned writer Jude Troy.

Like many, I felt deeply uncomfortable with the religious interference in public schools that was the John Howard-instigated, Scott Morrison-turbocharged, Labor-complying National School Chaplaincy Program.

But this deeply humane show, which debuted at the Melbourne International Film Festival and is now screening on SBS from 26 August, isn’t really about blurring the lines between church and state.

Instead, The Airport Chaplain is centred on a more secularly-minded good samaritan, Tobias, the titular character, whose duty it is to tend for the passengers and staff passing through a bustling Melbourne airport – shot at Jeff’s Shed.

A true champion of locally told stories, Weaving exudes big hug energy (that is, when he’s not menacing Keanu Reeves in a dystopian future wracked by AI-loving aliens, or troubling poor Jack Loudon with daddy issues in Slow Horses).

This is a welcome role for him.

Work/life imbalance

In the first three episodes that debuted at MIFF, we grasp that Tobias is a gentle-hearted guy with a good head for problem-solving – the sort of calm and collected dude you want by your side when shit hits the proverbial.

Not that he has no life wrinkles himself. He’s estranged from his daughter, Steph (Tessa De Josselin as an adult and Gisele Field in flashbacks to her childhood), and nursing old wounds from a teased bereavement that he may or may not have been responsible for.

Whether he’s running from his demons or truly healing remains to be seen, but Tobias, who lives in a cottage that’s pretty much on the runway, pours all his energy into protecting the passengers under his communal care.

Unafraid of bending the rules to get things done, he’s enjoyed the tacit support of many recurring characters at the airport, including Bump star Claudia Karvan, magnificent as gate queen Cath, and Arka Dass’ control room eyes in and on the sky, Sami.

Fanny Hanusin is fun as the all-seeing cleaner Connie, who has a side gig in selling possibly contraband cigs, and Erroll Shand’s bullish baggage handling boss, Lex, is a highlight. He’s feisty, determined to right wrongs for his overworked staff while staring down management’s belt-tightening plans. It’s fair to say Of an Age star Elias Anton’s furrowed-brow cop, Ziv, is less amenable to Tobias’ grey areas.

Heartbreak High and the Narrow Road to the Deep North star Thomas Weatherall is also a welcome presence as Johnny, an on-probation security guy who Tobias takes under his wing. But Tobias’ definitely not by-the-book approach is risky business for a new recruit.

Things are about to get way stricter with the arrival of a new terminal boss and Tobias’ antagonist, or possible frenemy, Mira. The Pitt star Shabana Azeez is excellent in the role and dealing with her own stuff, including drama at home and rampant sexism from her boss in the workplace.

Both her age and her being a POC woman are in the mix as she struggles to assert authority in an unbending patriarchal system that might make Tobias’ dissension appealing, if it weren’t that his constant protocol breaches risk her already tenuous position.

Watch the trailer

Security breach

Encompassing character-driven, new-event-each-week plotlines featuring a galaxy of guest stars, The Airport Chaplain is glued together with a core cast, following a throughline across the eight-episode series that shares structural similarities with The Pitt.

The first episode is perhaps a little too low-key for an opener, with the main drama being an unidentified passenger (Kavitha Anandasivam) taking over the prayer room, but this this plotline soon heats up. There’s also a support dog-requiring customer who hasn’t booked ahead and whose mutt poos freely. A security breach to return a lost teddy bear sows the seeds of Tobias’ sprouting trouble.

Karvan is, like Weaving, one of our finest, and immediately engaging as the mother bear of the terminal. Like Tobias, she also has stuff rumbling in the background. ‘If I evict my mum, do you think I’ll go to hell?’ she asks Tobias when her mum’s inability to deal with frozen meals leaves her wondering if she’ll go home to a scene of destruction.

Ironically, it’s the first episode’s religious storyline that shows early promise, with Tobias gently guiding a businessman, Alex (Max Brown), who’s seemingly too focused on the job to deal with the fact that his dad just died mid-flight while he was returning from Shanghai.

Tobias, who briefly panics that his security breach might have delayed the plane, attempts to bone up on Buddhist grieving practices. It’s a nice touch, as is the eventual breakdown, or breakthrough, on the cold concourse tiles, with Tobias’ steady presence heartwarming.

Take off

Things pick up quickly in episode two, as the steadfastly silent passenger occupying the prayer room complicates matters fast. Tobias also turns up unannounced at his daughter’s bub’s baptism.

‘I’m a bit surprised you bought into the whole Catholic thing,’ he says, to which she retorts, ‘You weren’t invited.’

Of the guests, Ras-Samuel stands out in the role of Abe, an Ethiopian businessman whose shampoo line may not be legit. The plotline raises the thorny issue of racial profiling at security, with Ras-Samuel bringing both the charm and the necessary wallop to this one-and-done storyline.

The Airport Chaplain really hits its stride with its powerful third episode, as an endangered woman, Zoe (Brenna Harding), with a young daughter flees a violent partner. A deeply stressful yet delicately handled storyline, it allows Karvan and Weaving to shine as the true strength of their character’s alliance becomes clear.

It’s also where things start to subtly shift in the fractious relationship between Tobias and Mira, with Azeez a grand sparring partner and the kinks in their working relationship making for great TV.

Ensemble-forward

As The Airport Chaplain co-directors, Bonnie Moir brings the heart she lent to Love Me and Tig Terera the propulsive pacing he brought to Swift Street. It’s great to see Australian TV reembracing single-location, big ensemble dramas, with the new medical series The F Ward working a similar vibe and a continuation of prison drama Wentworth also in the works.

Cinematographers Alex Cardy and Sky Davies duck and weave through the airport’s passenger-facing and private spaces, from the tarmac to management offices, baggage handling and security queues teeming with occasionally wild flashpoints, like live fighting fish strapped to water-bagged thighs.

Pretty soon, you find yourself fully absorbed in the travails (and travels) of both the passers-through and the rusted-ons, with frequent flyers Weaving and Karvan plus the ace Azeez helping The Airport Chaplain soar on good vibes.  

The Airport Chaplain debuted at MIFF and premieres 26 August on SBS and SBS On Demand.

Discover more screen, games & arts news and reviews on ScreenHub and ArtsHub. Sign up for our free ArtsHub and ScreenHub newsletters.