Top of the Lake season one is a moody, bleak and depressing tv series. It's about 20% mystery and 80% drama set in a fictional town in South Island, NZ between what looks like Paradise, Glenorchy and Queenstown. Although the landscape is beautiful there is an unsettling undertone through all the episodes which leave you with a somber mood with just enough intrigue for you to try to solve the mystery of it all. Although the final episode answers some of the main mysteries, I couldn't shake the negative feelings I had by the end of the series. I didn't feel any sense of redemption nor satisfaction after watching the show, except that sinking feeling in my gut.
It's like Twin Peaks without the quirks and any uplifting sense of justice or any redeemable characters whatsoever. In that sense, Top of the Lake succeeds in dwelling upon the sense of emptiness, despair and social ills in this era of uncertainty. I don't think I would've managed to finish the first season if it weren't for the performance of Elizabeth Moss, despite the fact like the rest of the characters, hers was also broken and abused. The hardest to understand was David Wenham's Al who mumbles his way through the series, often obscuring important hints and clues to this otherwise slow drama. The series lacks decent characters that could have made this a more engaging narrative. In summary, I find this series toxic, filthy and leaves you with a sense of hopelessness. These are not qualities one would wish to associate with New Zealand.
Love it or hate it, you'll never see Queenstown or their police department the same way again...
It's like Twin Peaks without the quirks and any uplifting sense of justice or any redeemable characters whatsoever. In that sense, Top of the Lake succeeds in dwelling upon the sense of emptiness, despair and social ills in this era of uncertainty. I don't think I would've managed to finish the first season if it weren't for the performance of Elizabeth Moss, despite the fact like the rest of the characters, hers was also broken and abused. The hardest to understand was David Wenham's Al who mumbles his way through the series, often obscuring important hints and clues to this otherwise slow drama. The series lacks decent characters that could have made this a more engaging narrative. In summary, I find this series toxic, filthy and leaves you with a sense of hopelessness. These are not qualities one would wish to associate with New Zealand.
Love it or hate it, you'll never see Queenstown or their police department the same way again...