Top of the Lake – TV Noir, New Zealand-style

The first part of the new New Zealand-based crime drama Top of the Lake aired on BBC Two in the UK on Saturday night (13 June 2013) and comparisons to recent shows such as The Killing and The Fall are inevitable.

For a start, Top of the Lake kicks off with a crime that’s been perpetrated against a young woman (more precisely a young girl in this case) and an investigation led by a strong-willed female detective. The drama has an eerie, malicious atmosphere, not dissimilar to many of the TV noir crime dramas we've seen recently, but also reminiscent of David Lynch’s uncanny crime series from the nineties, Twin Peaks.

Like The Fall and The Killing, Top of the Lake is visually very impressive – though it does have the advantage of being shot in the New Zealand countryside. But it isn't just the landscape that looks good, the whole drama is wonderfully shot; which shouldn't be surprising as the director (and co-creator) is Jane Campion – the latest high-profile film director to find refuge in television drama.

One welcome departure is that this seems to be a show that’s truly scary without being predictably violent against women (dog lovers might want to look away though). The victim of this particular crime might be a girl of only 12 but she is clearly a survivor (well I hope she is, the trailer for next week’s episode had me worried about her prospects). Played wonderfully by newcomer Jacqueline Joe, Tui Mitcham is a victim with strength and dignity; the shot of her riding on horseback towards possible sanctuary with a rifle strapped to her back suggested vulnerability at the same time as signalling that this is a character clearly not to be messed with.

The more conventional character is Detective Robin Griffin, played by Elisabeth Moss (best know for Peggy in Mad Men). With the usual range of personal problems to contend with, specifically a mother dying of cancer and a father recently dead (drowned in the lake of the title), Griffin might need more time to convince than the more outlandish characters. But she’s off to a good start; the scene in which she tackled a colleague about drinking on duty showed her understated determination and her willingness to stand up to the macho world she’s operating in. It was also very funny.

In fact, it’s humour that really sets Top of the Lake apart from other contemporary crime dramas. As well as being disturbed by the sinister atmosphere of the show I also found myself laughing out loud repeatedly. The scenes in the women’s camp were hilarious. But what was truly wonderful about it was that the women’s stories were also clearly tragic.

In this way, Top of the Lake achieved that rare thing, something for me that is the holy grail of good writing – to be funny and tragic at the same time. If dilemma is at the heart of all drama (trust me, it is) then there’s nothing better from a dramatists point of view than a story, a scene or a moment that makes the viewer unsure whether they should be laughing or crying. It’s that uncertainty that engages us and makes us want to continue watching.

I’ll certainly be watching again next week and no doubt I’ll find myself laughing at some terrible, tragic event. I just hope it doesn't involve young Tui and that cursed lake.