DVD Review: ‘Top of the Lake’

Article first published as DVD Review: ‘Top of the Lake’ on Blogcritics.

The BBC recently released on DVD its miniseries Top of the Lake. Airing last year in the U.S. over seven weeks on the Sundance Channel, the six-episode series follows Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men) as she investigates the case of a missing girl in the town where she grew up. This particular incident brings back memories of Robin’s teenage years, as secrets are spilled, and not everyone is who they appear to be.

Robin is a compelling character, even more so than the case she is working. She’s native to this part of New Zealand, but has horrible memories of a night after a dance, in which some boys treated her poorly. Unfortunately, those boys are still around, all grown up, and makes Robin tense and angry. Coming to terms with her feelings, for her rapists, for the guy she still likes, Johno (Thomas M. Wright, The Bridge), even though she’s engaged to someone else, and for her dying mother, make up Robin’s story.

Johno isn’t the only one interested in Robin. Her boss, Al (David Wenham, The Lord of the Rings), takes a shine, too, offering protection as well as love. Robin doesn’t return his feelings, however, and Johno does seem to let Robin be who she is more, so Al is never a true suitor for her affections, making for an interesting and atypical chemistry.

Johno’s family makes up much of the rest of the cast. His sister, Tui (Jacqueline Joe), is twelve years old and five months pregnant when Top of the Lake begins. When she disappears soon thereafter, she becomes the subject of Robin’s investigation. Who is the father? Where has Tui gone? How can such a young girl handle having a baby in her belly? And why does she wade into the cold lake?

One of the prime suspects for both being the father and for making Tui vanish is her father, Matt (Peter Mullan, Trainspotting). A cruel drug dealer, as shown right away in the first installment, Matt is prone to fits of anger and wants to control everybody and every thing in his life and in the town. He has a lot of kids, some he claims. He sees himself as an elder leader, but he’s really a scumbag, though how much of one is a question Top of the Lake answers little by little.

I really like how Top of the Lake develops its villains. Not just Matt, but others who are revealed as the tale plays out. Some are obvious, some are not, and it tends to be the less visible evildoers that are the worst. All seem authentically painted, more than just one thing defining their personality, and they have raw motivations that make sense, even as one does not agree with the characters’ actions.

Rounding out the cast is a group of women who live in shipping crates on the shore of a lake. Led by the cold GJ (Holly Hunter, Saving Grace), the place, dubbed Paradise, is a refuge for those who have been through tough times. They settle on land that Matt, while not owning, thinks he has a right to, and provide a haven for Tui and Robin at key times. Thus, they are central and important.

The settlement is an interesting one, with ever shifting rules and hierarchy. Just as one thinks they might have the dynamic figured out, it shifts and becomes something else in the next hour. This makes sense, given the loose leadership, and provides a glimpse at an uneasy anti-society, one that cannot possibly survive in stasis, and is doomed to ever be temporary. An important story point concerning this at the end seems inevitable in retrospect, but it’s hard to decide if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.

What’s cool about Top of the Lake is that it doesn’t concern itself with a fully cohesive, linear narrative. It presents a bunch of varied individuals who look and feel like real people, follows them through a transformative time of their lives, and then concludes with finality by coincidence and circumstance. It’s not at all formulaic, though there are a familiar archetype or two slipped in, and presents something original and interesting.

Unfortunately, there are no special features in this release to examine the fine acting, intriguing writing, shocking twists, or beautiful landscapes. It’s just two bare discs with no extras, and is not even in HD. A miniseries like this deserves so much better than such a meager release. However, I’m grateful it has seen the light of day on disc.

Top of the Lake is available now.

BONNIE AND CLYDE Lacks Pizzazz and Depth

Article first published as BONNIE AND CLYDE Lacks Pizzazz and Depth on TheTVKing.

Bonnie and Clyde, a four hour miniseries that aired on History and other networks this week, is a typical docudrama. It roughly tells the story of the titular outlaws, with a focus on Clyde a little before they met, through their tirade together, and ending in their deaths. Most people have heard of this terrible duo, and even if many are fuzzy on the details, the outcome is known ahead of time.

I wouldn't say I learned much from viewing Bonnie and Clyde. Normally, a docudrama will open my eyes to certain details and aspects, making it informative, as well as entertaining. This one does not. It skims over interesting people, like a female reporter named P.J. Lane (Elizabeth Reaser, The Good Wife) trying to make it in a man's industry, or a legendary hunter named Frank Hamer (William Hurt, Damages) brought in to catch the pair, without giving us anything memorable about them.

In fact, the entire production is light on depth. We are told that Clyde (Emile Hirsch, Milk) is a psychic, and it's hinted that he sees their end coming, but his feelings about this aren't explored, and we don't see any toll this might take on him. We can surmise that Bonnie (Holliday Grainger, The Borgias) is desperate for fame and wants her name remembered more than anything, including being with Clyde, but what does that do to their relationship?

Bonnie and Clyde is not without some character development for its leads. Viewers are able to figure out their dynamic, and the couple go through a rough patch or two. Yet, we are not taken into their heads. Plot points are brought up several times to make a point, but there is not the substance to them to really bite into.

I am unsure whether to blame the acting or not. One could argue that more subtle performances from Hirsch and Grainger, communicating the unwritten emotions in their expressions and movements, could have changed my impression of the piece. Yet, it's not like they are given a lot of time to do this. The pacing is quite quick, and while I wouldn't say there's a ton of action, it does seem like Bonnie and Clyde jumps from one little outing to the next with barely a pause to catch its breath and engage in character development.

Late in the show, a little of this missing element begins to come out. Clyde hates that Bonnie killed a father unnecessarily on Christmas, and the deed haunts them beyond the action. And her selfishness gets Clyde's brother, Buck (Lane Garrison, Prison Break), killed, which Clyde is angry about. But by then it's too little, too late, with the credits upon us and the relationship has to be solid again, so those things are swept past.

Perhaps this commentary reflects the life of the criminals as much as this particular telling of it. Maybe they whizzed by too fast to consider their actions or feel bad about them. But that's where creative license comes in. Bonnie and Clyde is not a compelling story the way it's presented here, and if changes need to be made to make it so, by all means, enact those changes.

I do enjoy Reaser and Hurt. It's clear that both are fantastic actors, even if their characters are under served. Hamer is basically interchangeable, any law enforcement officer would have caught the pair eventually, and Lane is more a stereotype than a developed individual, but the performers bring something on screen, as they always do, that draws one in. Holly Hunter (Saving Grace) also makes a mark as Bonnie's mom

However, other supporting players fare worse. Clyde's mother, Cummie (Dale Dickey, True Blood), gets a single, too brief, meaty scene. Father Henry (David Jensen, The Curious Case on Benjamin Button) has even less. Henry Methvin (Garrett Kruithof, Magic City) is pivotal to the ending, but not stand-out as a role. Most disappointing, audience don't get much chance to see if Sarah Hyland, who plays Buck's wife, Blanche, can do much more than she does on Modern Family.

Also, beginning Bonnie and Clyde at the end and flashing back is a mistake. I know it's a genre staple at this point, meant to hook in the watcher, but it's a tired trope that needs to be put down, and starts the show off on the wrong foot.

In the end, I feel like a really good miniseries about Bonnie and Clyde could be made, going by little bits that shine through, such as when Bonnie takes posed pictures and sends them to P.J., but this isn't it, not going far enough with what works, and overall being forgettable and mediocre.