Top of the Lake: China Girl - Review:
Directed by Jane Campion & Ariel Kleiman, Written by Jane Campion & Gerard Lee
2017 has very much been the year of Elisabeth Moss, at least in terms of television. After wowing audiences with The Handmaid's Tale, which earned Hulu its first ever Emmy nominated series, she reunited with acclaimed New Zealand-born filmmaker Jane Campion to work on the second season of the critically acclaimed series Top of the Lake, subtitled China Girl (not unfortunately, referencing the David Bowie song of the same name). Whilst in 2013 Campion claimed that there would be no more series of the show as it came to a clear and distinctive ending, obviously her mind was changed, as here we are several years later in 2017, looking at a second season that brings with it an A-List cast, in the form of Game of Thrones and Star Wars's Gwendoline Christie, but the bigger name and biggest draw is Nicole Kidman, who like Moss, is also having a fantastic year, having stolen the scene in Sofia Coppola's terrific The Beguiled film, which remains one of the best movies of 2017.
The central mystery of the show is pushed to the side for most of the seven episodes. It's fairly underwhelming and the weakest part of the show, with the main strength being the character drama. Here the focus revolves around a dead prostitute, who is tossed overboard into the ocean in a suitcase that washes up on the picturesque Bondi Beach. The show once again benefits from having an incredible location that it's filmed on, even though it doesn't feel as remote as the first season, it does leave a remarkable impression on the audience. The direction from Jane Campion (China Girl, Who's Your Daddy) and Ariel Kleiman (The Loved One, Surrogate, Birthday & The Battle of the Mothers) is all top notch as the show keeps it cinematic feel, looking just as good as most movies. The script from Campion & Gerard Lee does feel a bit convoluted in places and maybe makes use of one coincidence too many, but the points it gets across are effective and the end result is a hugely gripping experience that pulls you in and keeps you hooked over the six episodes that aired on SundanceTV last weekend and BBC 2 in the UK earlier in the year (as well as being aired online on BBC 3 and Hulu respectively). It's an easily bingeable series that benefits from its richly compelling, serialised drama that will pull you in and keep you hooked.
Much like the first season, China Girl is self contained, but the after effects from Robin's decision to shoot Al in the finale are very much hanging overhead at the beginning of the season. The storyline for the most part is concise and allows plenty of time to flesh out the characters, thanks in part due to their great performances. Christie, Kidman and Moss make an excellent trio of leading women, who are capable of stealing every scene. The scenes in particular between Kidman and Moss are great, as the show handles their characters very well indeed, with Battle of the Mothers, the season (and series?) finale ending things on a high note.
It may yet be the last we'll see of Top of the Lake but all that depends on whether or not Moss and Campion want to do another season. There's enough potential for more storylines to be told but for now, with just these two seasons, the show has established itself as one of the great crime dramas and one of the best results that has come out of #PeakTV. It's still unmissable, still riveting, and a perfect example of an accomplished director and actor at the top of her game. Even if Campion does not return to do more Top of the Lake, I'll be keeping an eye out for whatever her and Moss do next.
