Hudson Box Office (HBO) - Top of the Lake

The creation of Jane Campion (An Angel at My Table; The Piano), it is at times unnervingly focused on the New Zealand landscape. The main setting is Laketop, a very remote town in southern New Zealand where the environment presents a gorgeous lake where one expects a mountain. It looks stunning, idyllic. And the point, from the beginning, is that this lovely place seethes with corruption, horror and hatred.
The seven-part drama approaches the core story in a sideways manner. First we meet the 12-year-old girl Tui (Jacqueline Joe), who walks into the lake, apparently intent on suicide. She’s rescued and it emerges she’s pregnant.
Into the picture comes Robin (Elisabeth Moss), a young police detective who grew up in the area and is now back, visiting her sick mother. She specializes in crimes against women and children and is corralled into helping out with the case of Tui. More...