0/5

Top of the Lake

Unsettling characters, breathtaking scenery and an intriguing mystery mark Jane Campion's UKTV miniseries.

2013-03-12_2237The opening scenes of Top of the Lake evoke haunting images.

Tui, a 12 year old girl (Jacqueline Joe) rides her bike through the expansive countryside of Queenstown, takes off her shoes and strides into a freezing lake, standing alone and silent.

There’s plenty more to come that is perplexing and striking in Jane Campion’s miniseries. But before explanations are evident we are whisked away to other characters, each more intriguing than the last.

Matt Mitcham (Peter Mulan) is a local drug lord and father of two rough and ready sons, Mark (Jay Ryan) and Luke (Kip Chapman). When they see a convoy of shipping containers being loaded onto their property, deceptively called Paradise, they take action.

The containers belong to GJ (Holly Hunter), a silent, silver-haired Svengali, setting up a self-help group for wayward women by the side of  a vast lake. Amongst her followers are American Anita (Robyn Malcolm) and Bunny (Genevieve Lemon), neither of whom are about to be moved. Mitcham confronts the group who claim to have purchased the land from a local real estate salesman (Darren Gilshenan), but is met with opposition by women in “a lot of pain.”

Then there is Australian detective Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss), visiting her ill mother (Robyn Nevin). An expert in crimes involving children, she is summoned to the local police station to assist Det. Al Parker (David Wenham) in solving a case surrounding Tui.

Tui is pregnant, but refuses to speak about it. And so the mystery of the lake begins…

In this isolated New Zealand locale one gets the feeling anything is possible and Campion’s story takes full advantage of this. The characters are slightly left-of-field, with Griffin as the voice of reason. The soaring mountains and deep valleys harbour many secrets. Queenstown is God’s own country and the ends of the Earth all at the same time.

What is set-up in the first two hours of this six-part miniseries is dense stuff. Campion’s filmic language raises more questions than it answers with its unsettling characters, one of which is the landscape itself.

Holly Hunter is enigmatic as something of a cult leader. When the troubled Tui seeks her help she asks, “What happened to you?”

“A calamity,” GJ responds.

Elisabeth Moss is mesmerising as Griffin, trying to piece together a tale that is much bigger than the sum of the parts, all the while trying to equate a distant relationship with her mother. Moss’ Australian accent is surprisingly good, aided by a tapestry of other dialects -New Zealand, American, Scottish- that don’t leave her too exposed within the ensemble.

Top of the Lake is co-created and co-written by Gerard Lee and co-directed by Garth Davis. Both embellish Campion’s vision of a moody world, with themes brushed heavily in dark hues. The cinematography by Adam Arkapaw is breathtaking, enhanced by Mark Bradshaw’s evocative score.

For all its mystery and kookiness, this drama is more The Killing than Twin Peaks. The pace is atmospheric and languid, and might have benefitted from more plot points in its opening hour. But there’s no doubt it has loaded its world with high stakes that promise to pay off. Top of the Lake is unlike anything else from our region we’ve seen in recent times.

Top of the Lake premieres 8:30pm Sunday March 24 on UKTV.

17 Responses

  1. I am curious, can anyone tell me how many episodes this series has because i dont want to give up but it gets weirder, each episode if thats possible.

    Help??

  2. This plot simply has no credibility! The script is full of holes. Would a young girl who had been raped be immediately released into the custody of her father and brothers who are suspects in her rape? Not Likely. Would the New Zealand Police allow an Australian police officer – who happened to be on holiday in the area – to lead the team investigating the case? Highly Unlikely! Will I stick with this pretentious dross? Highly Unlikely!

  3. After the hype I was disappointed with this very slow opening episode. I can now see why the ABC would have preferred an Australian playing an Australian in the lead role. Agree with David Knox’s point about story beats – it’s all so portentous and pregnant…..Yes cinematography is awesome.

  4. I found it heavy going but when holly hunter and the woman who fell in love with a monkey????…..came on the scene the seriousness off the story flew out the window!……..

    I will tune in next week because i want to know what happened to the pregnant under aged child??

  5. Warning: If you’ve ever found Jane Campion’s work self-indulgent, pretentious or just downright silly, you’re going to loathe Top of the Lake. It’s one saving grace is stunning cinematography. Other than that, the characters are ludicrous, the performances weak and the story is a clumsy construct that can’t carry the weight of Campion’s twisted social politics, in which all women are victims and martyrs and all men are evil or stupid. I can’t imagine anyone taking this seriously beyond the point in episode one where Holly Hunter’s character finally speaks and you wonder WTF anyone involved in the scene thought they were doing.

  6. It is a Sundance, BBC2 and UK TV co-production. UK TV hopped in with their enforced 10% of budget spent on productions, when the ABC pulled out.

    The ABC pulled out because an American playing an New Zealander who lives in Sydney is against union rules. Though Australian’s playing Americans and New Zealanders is OK. It’s all about the cultural imperialism.

    Top of The Lake is made my See-Saw Films and has some funding from the NSW and Federal governments according to the IMDb.

  7. I was really surprised to see that the first two episodes have gone to air (earlier this week) in the US already. I thought this was a BBC exclusive.

    Reviews have been positive, so bring on Sunday.

  8. I am seriously looking forward to this show – and with the 4.5 stars rating David, I look forward to it even more. I trusted you with your star rating with Damages, and will do the same with this show.

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