Top of the Lake

I do not want to include any spoilers in this review, well because I want you to enjoy this miniseries as much as possible. Top of the Lake tells the story of a young girl named Tui and a detective named Robin. That's all I'm going to you. The best part of this miniseries is its slowness. Most shows bore when they get slow, but this show draws you in and makes you appreciate its slow pace. For god sakes, it took "The Killing" two seasons to tell me who killed the girl. That is definitely too slow, and the girl's family in that show was very boring. This is so unlike this series. You cannot group these two together. It is a very unique insight into humans and our reasonings. With many twists and turns, I highly recommend this show. I have a feeling that this show will have many nominations this year at the Emmys. Tip: The show is available on Netflix, and may be reairing on the Sundance Channel in America or BBC in the UK.

This is probably one of my favorite shows and I uphold my 10 stars rating after watching the second season. Top of the lake is a slow burner, with unique characters that are very flawed and human. If you let it, it can get under your skin and leaves you wondering about the heavy issues, that it dares to deal with. For example, the second season's main theme is motherhood, abuse in relationship and exploitation of a marginal group of people (sex workers). I think you wouldn't expect the ending which is a quite unique twist, but I won't say more. This show is also quite good at playing with your expectations and turning them upside down, which is the hallmark of good storytelling. The female characters are quite prominent and well written, without being obnoxious feminist champions. They feel real and very relatable. The antagonist is also very good, I was worried, that the new antihero will be only a pale shadow compared to Peter Mullan, but oh boy, was I wrong! I can only recommend Top of the Lake, it's not your typical good guys vs bad guys show. It's about people who collide with each other, have interesting story arcs and face relatable problems under unusual circumstances. Don't listen to people who watch half an episode and come here to write a "review".

Brilliant character development; each character develops along true lines; their development is not hindered or compromised by the plot line. Beautiful plot twists; the obvious happening when unexpected and bolts from the blue when all seems straight forward. As confronting as real life itself. The cinematography has faithfully reflected the essence and ambiance of this special area. In episode 1 I was critical toward the US/Aust/NZ accent and inflection of Elisabeth Moss but then accepted it as part of her (Robyn's) character. Any misgivings (ABC) of her being cast in the role should totally have been cast aside by such a gritty performance. The glassing scene in the pub is cloned reality. Magnificent scenery, great acting, intuitive story telling.

Season One Review: I've been looking at the reviews of the first season of this series, and I feel most of the negative ones are from people who simply wanted a very different show. There are inexplicable comparisons with Twin Peaks and complaints about the quality of the mystery, as though this is a series in which the central mystery is the selling point.

It's not a classic mystery story, but neither is it meant to be (and neither was Twin Peaks, so when people complain it's not a good mystery "like Twin Peaks" I am profoundly puzzled). Instead it is the exploration of a created world. The story is shambling, with odd strings that seem untethered, but so is life. Yes, you could strip out Holly Hunter's brilliant performance as a down-to-earth guru, toss out Robin's mother, toss out all sorts of things, and you could have a short, standard mystery, but why would you want to do that?

Top of the Lake is a fascinating look at a brutal, beautiful world. The beauty comes from the landscape, the brutality from the men, who are remarkably awful. I can see why some people would complain about a show where almost every man is a monster, except for a couple of crazy ones and one passably nice guy. It doesn't bother me, but it's the one criticism I've read that I wouldn't argue against.

The show is not about the mystery but about character. There is enough mystery and plot to keep that part involving, but this is more about Robin's inner struggles and outer determination and passion than anything else.

I wish more of the reviewers here talked about the mini-series that exists instead of the one they wanted.

Season Two review: I had thought Top of the Lake was a mini-series and was surprised there *was* a season two. It is less scenic and even grimmer than the first season. There is more grit and less quirk, but there is still the complexity of character and the dark view of male-female interactions (i.e. A lot of the men are jerks).

It was interesting, but not so much that I'm eager for a third season.

This is clearly a wonderful piece of work with very precise character development that is lacking in many current productions that have a lot more money to work with. There is a boatload of really skilled actors, a great writer/director, a story with motives slowly and carefully revealed and a beautiful location. As well it is a clever detective story. What more could you want. All the characters seem like real people in that they have all suffered or struggled in some way and are quite imperfect and have all wound in the same place. Really worth a look if you like good stories by professionals who get to tell the story the way they want.