Top Of The Lake: Season 1

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 27 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 188 Ratings

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7.1

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7.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 188 Ratings

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Top Of The Lake

Now Playing: Top Of The Lake

Season Details & Credits

Sundance Channel | SundanceTV | Season Premiere Date: March 24, 2013

Starring: Elisabeth Moss, David Wenham

Summary: Detective Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss) returns to New Zealand to visit her sick mother only to be drawn into the investigation of the disappearance of a pregnant 12-year-old (Jacqueline Joe).

Creator: Jane Campion and Gerard Lee

Genre(s): Drama, Movie/Mini-Series

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Season 1 Episodes

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S1:E7. Episode 7
Air Date: April 15, 2013
tbd
S1:E6. Episode 6
Air Date: April 15, 2013
tbd
S1:E5. Episode 5
Air Date: April 8, 2013

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Tom Gliatto

Mar 15, 2013

This haunting New Zealand miniseries boasts a strong, tense performance from Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss as a detective, but it's very much the work of director Jane Campion. [25 Mar 2013, p.44]

100

Linda Stasi

Mar 18, 2013

This six-part series is so layered and unexpected that nothing follows a tried-and-true formula.... This is great TV. Read full review

100

Matt Zoller Seitz

Mar 21, 2013

A triumph of writing, directing, and acting. Read full review

Tirdad Derakhshani

Mar 18, 2013

A stunning, richly textured, feminist existential epic. Read full review

Matthew Gilbert

Mar 18, 2013

After the forced setup, evolves into a rich portrait of hard lives and the possibility of healing. By episode 3, the miniseries feels like a smart crime novel, steeped in very specific locales and individuals. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Matt Roush

Mar 18, 2013

Top of the Lake is reminiscent of AMC's The Killing in ways both good (its moodiness) and unfortunate--Robin has a fiancé back home who keeps pleading for her to return--but its world is so specific and transcendently trippy, haunted by mythic legends rooted in this unforgiving geography, that it feels wondrously fresh, alien and unforgettable. Read full review

Mike Hale

Mar 18, 2013

Most of the elaborately introduced plotlines fizzle out (or simply vanish), and the final surprise is the worst kind of twist ending, arrived at arbitrarily and seemingly presented for its shock value. Read full review

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User Score

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7.1

User Reviews

toddg33

Jun 13, 2013

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Top of the Lake is a unique and captivating mini-series that offers great writing, acting and direction, and a fantastic setting. At first glance a crime drama, it defies genre conventions, but the tip of the hat to the horror genre in the opening sequence and music is not to be ignored.

Make no mistake; Top of the Lake is about New Zealand. Any local will tell you that New Zealand is Paradise; Top of the Lake tells us about the dark side of that paradise. Yes, there is an Appalachian (for example) version of this story but this is a distinctly New Zealand story.

Top of the Lake is a portrayal of New Zealand culture and its problems as few other films or series have done. “Once Were Warriors” is a notable exception, and it is no coincidence that that film also deals with issues of misogyny, violence, rape, teen suicide, child abuse and child molestation.

There is a lot of feminism in Top of the Lake, but it is New Zealand culture that is indicted, and men and women are both guilty. There are many victims in Top of the Lake, but there are few innocents. Women seem to limit their sins to denying, defending and otherwise enabling the behavior of men, and the dark side of the culture in general, but Top of the Lake wants us to question whether they are any less guilty. We probably see this most clearly in Campion’s main character Robin Griffin, played by Elizabeth Moss.

There are many good reasons to like Robin, and to identify with her. But the viewer suspects Al Parker (David Wenham) early on, and grows uncomfortable as Robin fails to follow up on some fairly clear warning signs, especially when she blacks out and wakes up in his bed and clothes, but fails to have a rape kit done, or a blood test, or to do anything more than give Al a light questioning. She has suspicions, but she fails to follow through on them. It begins to resemble the denial and willful blindness that is so much a part of the local culture, and a strong theme of the series.

Robin continues to get drunk in bars filled with overtly misogynist men, including one who actually raped her as a teenager. She rekindles an old relationship with an old flame, Johnno (Thomas M. Wright) in a no-means-yes moment in a pub toilet. This old flame had abandoned her at a high school dance just before she was raped by four drunk local men. He comes clean about being there, but refuses to deny planning it with them ahead of time. She continues seeing him.

When the local drug lord, Matt Mitchum (Peter Mullan), the most obvious villain of the series, reveals to her that he is her father, and that her lover is therefore her half-brother, we feel her horror as she realizes that many of the local demons are inside of her as well, and have been all along (Al has DNA testing done, and reports that Johnno is not Matt’s son. However he also reports that Tui’s baby is Matt’s, almost certainly a lie. We never know for sure).

As ugly as this all might sound, I continue to have a lot of sympathy and patience for Robin, as do most viewers I think. Credit this to the acting of Elizabeth Moss, but of course Campion knows that it is important that the audience care about even such a deeply flawed character.

Campion may have less patience for Robin than we do. GJ, the reluctant “guru” of Paradise, played by Holly Hunter, is inspired by the late Indian philosopher U.G. Krishnamurti, a friend of Campion’s. GJ has no more patience for Robin than for any of the “crazy living at Paradise. Robin is apparently the “crazy that broke the camel’s back, sending GJ off to Reykjavik, about as far from New Zealand as a person can get.… Expand

3 of 10 users found this helpful37

Laudi61

Aug 24, 2013

Top of the Lake is one of the most intriguing shows I've seen in long time, the quirkiness of the characters (especially Elisabeth Moss) enhanced the intertwined and un-nerving story-line. The characters were mysterious yet believable and scenery stunning. Another Campion New Zealand masterpiece.

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

Shaarif

Mar 26, 2013

Dark, twisted, weird and mysterious, you won't see any similar show on TV right now. Not only its plot is well-weaved and tense, the characters are played out beautifully. It has a great potential for awards!

5 of 8 users found this helpful53

drlowdon

May 14, 2013

When twelve year old Tui Mitcham is found apparently trying to kill herself in an ice cold lake it is soon discovered that she is pregnant. Unable to get Tui to talk the child services agency calls Robin Griffin (Elizabeth Moss), a detective with experience of working on such matters, andWhen twelve year old Tui Mitcham is found apparently trying to kill herself in an ice cold lake it is soon discovered that she is pregnant. Unable to get Tui to talk the child services agency calls Robin Griffin (Elizabeth Moss), a detective with experience of working on such matters, and who happens to be visiting her cancer-stricken mother in the area.

The shows rural surroundings certainly make for a more interesting background than the usual big city setting and this, coupled with the way in which the show is structured across its seven episodes, means that the show is able to feel original despite being yet another detective drama. Any fans of Mad Men will know Moss is talented actress and the rest of the cast give equally natural performances that help the plot build towards a satisfying conclusion.

The only criticism I would personally level at the series is that the pace is rather slow at times during the first few episodes. As The Wire, arguably the greatest drama series in TV history, demonstrated that in itself is not necessarily a problem but when there are only seven episodes I just felt it needed to grab my attention a little quicker. That’s only a small criticism though and it certainly doesn’t stop Top of the Lake being a worthwhile watch.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

dierregi

Feb 3, 2014

Jane Campion is a champion of the weird and freakish. It was therefore with trepidation that I followed this mini-series. Turns out, my apprehension was well founded. In a nutshell, Robin is back to her New Zealand hometown of Laketop to visit her sick mother. She is coming fromJane Campion is a champion of the weird and freakish. It was therefore with trepidation that I followed this mini-series. Turns out, my apprehension was well founded. In a nutshell, Robin is back to her New Zealand hometown of Laketop to visit her sick mother. She is coming from Australia, where she moved and became a cop of some sort.

The local police get in touch with her when Tui, a 12 yo girl turns up at the station, suicidal and pregnant. This is just the beginning of the most bizarre investigative procedure I have seen on screen. Tui is interrogated by Robin (a “specialist” in dealing with kids). Despite the unpleasantness of the situation nothing much comes out of her mouth (was it rape? was it something even more sinister?) Whatever it was, during her interrogation, Tui manages to look merely annoyed, rather than scared or shocked.

Completing the female cast is a bunch of women camping on the lake shore and “guided” by GJ – one of the most obnoxious characters ever. Tui goes visiting their camp, then she goes missing and everybody in creepy Laketop gets involved to find her (or what remains of her body). During the very loose and badly coordinated search, we get to know all of Robin’s dark secrets.

If the female cast is unpleasant more grief comes from the male side. We have Matt, the local bad guy, involved in criminal activities and apparently father of almost every youngster in Laketop. He is also Tui’s father, although their relationship is left mostly unexplored. Then we have Al, the lieutenant, too creepy for words. Potential (and actual) rapists/misogynists fill the local bar, together with Johnno, yet another of Matt’s offspring (or maybe not) who could (or not) be the only good guy around. But he also has his share of quirky behaviors, such as sleeping in a tent, for reasons I could not quite grasps.

The denouement of the whole plot turns out as one of the most anti-climactic ever. Somebody gets shot, Robin discover a dark plot (of the type already explored and exploited much better in Twin Peaks), Tui goes back to normal life, still managing to look supremely bored and completely detached from all the tragedy around her. The end.

Not a single character in the series was likeable or engaging, although I suppose main character Robin was meant to elicit some sympathy. The biggest let down was Tui, who played her character either catatonic or bored. Also extremely puzzling the GJ character. I just cannot figure why anybody would follow such a rude person to the end of the world, thinking she has a “teaching” or enlightenment of any sort to impart.… Expand

8 of 10 users found this helpful82

xactomundo

Sep 18, 2017

I liked the first season, but after getting into episode 4 of season 2, there are some glaring plot holes (SPOILER no effing way she doesn't arrest that guy after he bites her nose, NO WAY). Add to that the fact that every male character is some combination of violent sex monster, snickeringI liked the first season, but after getting into episode 4 of season 2, there are some glaring plot holes (SPOILER no effing way she doesn't arrest that guy after he bites her nose, NO WAY). Add to that the fact that every male character is some combination of violent sex monster, snickering a**hole, or mewling idiot. Many of the female characters are awful too, but they at least have empathetic qualities. I get that this is from and by women and it has a feminist POV, but dial it down a notch, honey. All the women fold their arms and look sideways whenever a man opens his mouth. FWIW, Elizabeth Moss puts in a good performance.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

xXCreepyB4byXx

May 21, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Unbelievable plot and characters saturate this nightmare. Most of the scenes don't link up with each other and many of the relationships in this story Make no sense. There are constant errors, such as at the end of episode one, the lawyer was reported as a 'Man Overboard' after being killed, then the next day, Moss and the half-brother find the lawyers body while inexplicably jogging in the woods together after having met the day before during investigation.

These kind of unexplainable errors in writing are rife and rampant throughout this crappy, crappy show. All of the women, even the main character are ugly, unintelligent and introverted, making many of her character's appearances on screen pointless and dull. I can't see how anyone that has ever watched TV before could give this show a 10/10 let alone a 100/100. This show is terrible and it was apparently written by morons or crazy people.… Expand

2 of 7 users found this helpful25

SEE ALL 38 REVIEWS

Seasons & Episodes

81

Series Overview
Season 2

73
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: July 27, 2017
Season 1

87
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: March 24, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E7. Episode 7
  Air Date: April 15, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E6. Episode 6
  Air Date: April 15, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E5. Episode 5
  Air Date: April 8, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E4. Episode 4
  Air Date: April 1, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E3. Episode 3
  Air Date: March 25, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E2. Episode 2
  Air Date: March 18, 2013
- tbd
  S1:E1. Episode 1
  Air Date: March 18, 2013