Au bout du lac

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.

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.

WHO thought it prudent to cast Elizabeth Moss as a Kiwi? She can't even do a consistent accent, and there ain't a trace of Kiwi in her mashup. Her horrid accent attempts were distracting and detracting. I can think of dozens of NZ female actors who would have been perfect. Box office appeal for the US? Garbage. Nicole Kidman could have done that on her own. Were it not for the Yankee girl playing a native NZ cop, I'd have given a higher rating. This is an insult to accents and to dialects!

I concede that anything outside of a middle class English accent is challenging for Americans. So, why try? Michael Banas, Rebecca Gibney, Antonia Prebble, to name a few... How about one of the multitude of even Australian female actors like Anna Torv or Nicole DaSilva? Or SA--Jessica Marais, anyone? Ugh.

I don't know what some of the reviewers were complaining about. Season 2 was just as good as season 1! I enjoyed the mystery surrounding these cases and how they keep personally affecting Robin. Well done!

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.