I have to agree with s3raphita here. Sorry ultrarishi and bhairitu...please
don't take this personally, but my honest reaction to this series was feeling
like I needed to take a shower afterwards. The worst thing about it was the
overriding sense of obsession and ickiness that has become Jane Campion's
"trademark" in her later films. And interestingly enough, it wasn't just the
subject matter that made it that way. For example, the "Millenium" series of
movies (starting with "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo") dealt with material
just as dark, as did "Bron-Broen" in some ways, but I wasn't left with the same
icky feeling after those films.
On a craftsmanship level, I have to disagree with most of the reviews of this
film I've read since watching it. I think that the reviewers either were swayed
by the big names (Campion, Elizabeth Moss, Holly Hunter) or they have low
standards. The plot was mediocre IMO, even by TV detective series standards.
The timeline (which took place over 5 months) was completely messed up, with no
real sense of elapsed time between scenes, the "whodunnit" was obvious after
episode 3, and IMO there were almost no real characters. Instead they were
caricatures...stereotypes with little depth...and I for one found none of them
believable. Especially Holly Hunter as GJ. As I said before, if Campion
actually based her on UG Krishnamurti, then her perception is *way* off. The
only one of the awards it was nominated for that I felt was deserved was for
cinematography, and even that was a no-brainer, because all that the DP had to
do was point a camera at the beautiful NZ
countryside and turn it on.
All in all, color me disappointed. I was hoping that watching it would "cure"
me of my aversion to Jane Campion, but instead it reinforced it. I won't be
bothering with any of her films in the future. I really *needed* (after the
shower) a quick watching of a dumb nerd/horror movie ("Knights Of Badassdom")
to take the bad taste out of my eyes.
________________________________
From: "s3raph...@yahoo.com" <s3raph...@yahoo.com>
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2014 12:22 AM
Subject: [FairfieldLife] RE: TV-inspired rap: Some early "Top Of The Lake"
impressions
I watched the whole of "Top Of The Lake". It's unpleasant and violent with no
redeeming or attractive characters. I only watched because of the UG guru role
to see where that would lead. "Nowhere" is the answer. There's no real
relationship between the spiritual group and the disorder and crime surrounding
it so the commune just adds a slightly exotic ambience to the drama. You wanted
Holly Hunter's character to provide an alternative interpretation of the events
but there is no resolution - just a confirmation of Campion's pessimism.
