Nominated for eight Emmys this year, Top of the Lake (which is currently streaming on Netflix) is a seven episode miniseries produced by the BBC which focuses on the disappearance of a twelve year-old girl (Jacqueline Joe) who, shortly before she vanishes, discovers she is pregnant. When Australian detective Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss) who specializes in child rape and kidnapping cases travels back to her home country of New Zealand to investigate the crime, she uncovers small town secrets that affect not only the missing girl, but also Robin herself.
Top of the Lake is perfectly fine, but it plods along at times and, considering its length, I can't help but think not enough happened to warrant the over six hours of story presented. However, what the length does provide is a well-rounded look at all the key players in the plot and that's certainly a welcome addition that the parameters of a miniseries allow. Co-writer and co-director Jane Campion (of The Piano fame) crafts a strong female character in Detective Griffin and Elisabeth Moss gives the character the chutzpah needed for her scenes with the incredibly rough-around-edges men in the small towns she visits along with the necessary gentleness that comes along with dealing with victimized children. I discovered after looking at Moss' imdb-ography that I'm not sure I've seen her in anything other than maybe a random episode of a tv show, but she is certainly capable of single-handedly carrying a heavy film like this which is a credit to her talent.
There are also some great turns from Peter Mullan as the father of the missing girl who becomes a suspect in both her disappearance and rape almost instantly and Thomas M. Wright as Griffin's old boyfriend and the missing girl's half-brother who stirs up quite a few feelings in the detective. However, countering these nice performances is a subplot involving some new-agey American named GJ who sets up some commune in New Zealand for a wide variety of nutty women striving to better themselves by listening to GJ's babble. Played by Holly Hunter, GJ's scenes were much too plentiful to simply be forgotten, but don't add a thing to the plot in the grander scheme of things, bogging down every single episode of the miniseries.
While I enjoyed Top of the Lake, perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the miniseries is the way things are tied up. The final episode felt incredibly rushed and the ending was a bit of a letdown in that it provided a solid twist (that I guessed was coming yet still found intriguing), but didn't allow nearly enough time to delve into this conceit, making me a bit perturbed if I'm being honest. As a viewer, I waited through seven episodes and wanted a bit more of an explanation of things. All in all, though, Top of the Lake is decent viewing and may be worth checking out if the concept interests you.
Top of the Lake is perfectly fine, but it plods along at times and, considering its length, I can't help but think not enough happened to warrant the over six hours of story presented. However, what the length does provide is a well-rounded look at all the key players in the plot and that's certainly a welcome addition that the parameters of a miniseries allow. Co-writer and co-director Jane Campion (of The Piano fame) crafts a strong female character in Detective Griffin and Elisabeth Moss gives the character the chutzpah needed for her scenes with the incredibly rough-around-edges men in the small towns she visits along with the necessary gentleness that comes along with dealing with victimized children. I discovered after looking at Moss' imdb-ography that I'm not sure I've seen her in anything other than maybe a random episode of a tv show, but she is certainly capable of single-handedly carrying a heavy film like this which is a credit to her talent.
There are also some great turns from Peter Mullan as the father of the missing girl who becomes a suspect in both her disappearance and rape almost instantly and Thomas M. Wright as Griffin's old boyfriend and the missing girl's half-brother who stirs up quite a few feelings in the detective. However, countering these nice performances is a subplot involving some new-agey American named GJ who sets up some commune in New Zealand for a wide variety of nutty women striving to better themselves by listening to GJ's babble. Played by Holly Hunter, GJ's scenes were much too plentiful to simply be forgotten, but don't add a thing to the plot in the grander scheme of things, bogging down every single episode of the miniseries.
While I enjoyed Top of the Lake, perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the miniseries is the way things are tied up. The final episode felt incredibly rushed and the ending was a bit of a letdown in that it provided a solid twist (that I guessed was coming yet still found intriguing), but didn't allow nearly enough time to delve into this conceit, making me a bit perturbed if I'm being honest. As a viewer, I waited through seven episodes and wanted a bit more of an explanation of things. All in all, though, Top of the Lake is decent viewing and may be worth checking out if the concept interests you.
Controversial statement: Elizabeth Moss is the best part of Mad Men.
ReplyDeleteAre you thinking about checking out Orange is the New Black? It's ineffably good.
Is Elisabeth Moss typically not liked on Mad Men? I honestly know not much about it (and debate whether to watch it or not).
ReplyDeleteAnd Orange Is the New Black is in my queue...just deciding what to tackle next at the moment. Got a bunch of options...
Did you watch House of Cards?
I have watched the first like 4 episodes of House of Cards, I just haven't had the initiative to start watching again.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say she's not liked, most people acknowledge that she is good on the show and one of the more likable characters but most people are very adamant about Jon Hamm being the best part of Mad Men.
I don't have it in me anymore to straight marathon shows but Orange is the New Black was so good that I watched it in three days.
I have watched the first episode of this but I haven't gotten around to watching the rest.
I agree with you on this one. I was really quite hooked by it and thought the end was a let down as well (two foreseeable twists and all).
ReplyDeleteHad no idea it was even a miniseries until I had finished watching it. Perhaps that was the biggest let down for me. There were a lot of opened plot lines/points that were just left floating. I am a season behind on Mad Men, so I just thought that maybe Moss wasn't on Mad Men anymore and this was her new show.
As for Justin's recommendation of Orange is the New Black--an okay show with enough drama to hold your attention and even cause some nail-biting. I enjoy watching all of the actors besides the main one. Much like how I feel about How I Met Your Mother. If it weren't for Crazy Eyes, I would have probably not finished the season. Mostly every episode has a nice background story for one of the characters, which to me are the most enjoyable parts of the series.
I'm in the midst of The Killing now -- just finished Season One and will move onto Season Two within a few days -- and I'm enjoying it, but not overly fascinated by it. Orange Is the New Black may be next...not sure...I debate heavily as to whether to watch Mad Men. I just can't imagine it being as good as people say it is...
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah...after nearly six hours, Top of the Lake just didn't allow itself enough time at the end to breathe and tie things up. From episode 3, I felt like something shady was going on with the inevitable criminal and it would've been nice to have his devious ways detailed a little more or something.