I've seen a lot of negative reviews of this which seem to centre on the slow pace and the perceived heavy-handed moralising, as well as the slight hopelessness of the main character.
But to my eyes, this is what makes the drama so compelling. Jane Campion has crafted a really powerful thriller by letting the story unfold gradually and making her characters, particularly her female characters, three dimensional, flawed and yet still fitting familiar tropes. So instead of the hard-bitten alcoholic male detective with a history of violence and failed relationships, we have a traumatised survivor of a female detective doing a superb job in incredibly difficult circumstances, with a murky and difficult history to cope with every day. Instead of the newbie eager male protagonist, we have a tall, gorgeous, geeky, emotional wreck played by Gwedoline Christie whose position draws you into the undercurrents of the story well.
Nicole Kidman was a bit wasted here as a cipher character - the lesbian adoptive mother of one of the main characters - I have a hunch she did it as a favour to Campion rather than for the challenge of her character. Enough plot twists and tension to satisfy the detective drama geeks, and enough complex and believable characterisations to make this intensely watchable and engaging.
The themes are dark - prostitution, surrogacy, murder, rape - and it is a bit tokenistic on the Asian and male characters who are ciphers to drive the plot rather than rounded individuals. But this is still well crafted drama than more than passes the Bechtel test.
But to my eyes, this is what makes the drama so compelling. Jane Campion has crafted a really powerful thriller by letting the story unfold gradually and making her characters, particularly her female characters, three dimensional, flawed and yet still fitting familiar tropes. So instead of the hard-bitten alcoholic male detective with a history of violence and failed relationships, we have a traumatised survivor of a female detective doing a superb job in incredibly difficult circumstances, with a murky and difficult history to cope with every day. Instead of the newbie eager male protagonist, we have a tall, gorgeous, geeky, emotional wreck played by Gwedoline Christie whose position draws you into the undercurrents of the story well.
Nicole Kidman was a bit wasted here as a cipher character - the lesbian adoptive mother of one of the main characters - I have a hunch she did it as a favour to Campion rather than for the challenge of her character. Enough plot twists and tension to satisfy the detective drama geeks, and enough complex and believable characterisations to make this intensely watchable and engaging.
The themes are dark - prostitution, surrogacy, murder, rape - and it is a bit tokenistic on the Asian and male characters who are ciphers to drive the plot rather than rounded individuals. But this is still well crafted drama than more than passes the Bechtel test.