In honor of Elizabeth Moss' nomination for "Lead Actress in a TV Miniseries or Movie" I am reviewing this 7 part miniseries. This show is also up for seven other Emmys (making 8 nominations total):
- Best TV Miniseries or Movie
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a TV Miniseries or Movie- Peter Mullan
- Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or Movie- Jane Champion and Garth Davis
- Outstanding Writing for a TV Miniseries or Movie- Jane Champion and Gerard Lee
- It has already won an Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Movie
In the opening scene a young girl walks into a lake. She is pulled out by a school headmistress before she can commit suicide. It turns out the 12 year old name is Tui Mitcham and she is pregnant (but we don't know who the father is). Detective Robin Griffin has returned to her home town to visit her sick mother. She takes over the case since she specializes in sex crimes. Tui disappears in episode 2.
There is a strange cast of characters in Laketop New Zealand:
- GJ- an "enlightened" woman who is leading a group of women living in cargo boxes in a remote area called "Paradise".
- Matt Mitcham- Tui's father. He owns the land where GJ's group are staying (and he's not happy about it).
- Johnno Mitcham- Tui's half brother.
Episode 1: In the small town of Laketop, New Zealand, a young girl named Tui Mitcham tries to drown herself in a lake. After she is rescued, a school nurse notices that Tui is pregnant. Robin Griffin, a police inspector from Sydney, is called to interview Tui at the police station.
Episode 2: Robin encounters two women from Paradise. They tell her Tui was with them the day before she disappeared, but was gone in the morning. Robin organizes the local authorities to search for Tui. During the search, Robin walks into the lake and has a vision of Tui doing the same, clenching her fists in the water.
Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). An interesting story in a beautiful locale has me wondering what's really going on in Laketop.
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