David Wenham has enjoyed a long and acclaimed career but the Australian actor calls new miniseries Top of the Lake one of his finest projects ever.’
In a remote, mountainous part of New Zealand's South Island, a mystery is unfolding. A 12-year-old girl named Tui, the daughter of a local drug baron, walks into a lake.
Rescued from the freezing waters, it's discovered she's pregnant. Unwilling to reveal the identity of the father, she then disappears.
Robin Griffin (Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss) is the police officer specialising in child protection who is called in to investigate.
The town of Laketop is where Robin spent her younger years, and when she returns she finds her search for Tui also has her delving back into her own past, with haunting results.
Meanwhile, tensions are building between the small-scale crime empire overseen by Tui's father Matt Mitcham (Peter Mullan) and a camp populated by wounded, disillusioned women, headed by the charismatic, mysterious GJ (Holly Hunter).
That's the set-up of Top of the Lake, a six-part drama from New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion, the Oscar-winning director of The Piano.
A moody and compelling mystery that evolves into a rich, complex character study, it brings together a variety of respected behind-the-camera talent and a stellar international cast.
Among the actors is David Wenham, playing Laketop's top cop Al Parker. A mentor of Robin's, he finds himself pulled in various directions when she arrives in the area to investigate Tui's disappearance.
"Al enjoys his job and has a genuine concern about what goes on in his community," Wenham said.
"But his station is a bit old-school, a bit of a boys' club, and the community comprises a very mixed eclectic group of characters - there are a fair few fringe-dweller types.
"And then when Robin arrives at his station, well, she's young, female and attractive in a world that's not really used to that kind of energy.
"It's fair to say Al finds himself somewhat attracted to her, which makes things even more difficult.
"It's quite a strange community in many ways, which makes this really interesting viewing."
Wenham is quick to praise Campion and co-screenwriter Gerard Lee, collaborating for the first time since Campion's 1989 art-house hit Sweetie, for their creation of this world and its characters, and in particular the way they use Top of the Lake's mystery elements as a first step into a richer story.
"Jane and Gerald are very smart writers and the mysteries are not their major interest," Wenham said.
"They're not the be all and end all. They're means to explore much deeper thematic concerns: the hows and whys of people's lives, what drives people, how these drives affect them. What ricochets from those events, and how that influences and affects people, is something that interests Jane, Gerald and Garth Davis, who directed a number of the episodes."
It's the complementary quality of this collaboration - driven by Campion's vision - that Wenham believes gives Top of the Lake its distinctive style.
"The great thing is when you look at this, it's clearly Jane's work," he said.
"She admitted she couldn't have written this without Gerard and couldn't have directed all six hours without Garth.
"But she has a very individual voice and a very distinct cinematic look - you really know when you're looking at a Jane Campion piece. This is certainly no different.
"Something she has the ability to do is bring humour to material that is very dark. She can find interesting quirks of humour in the most unexpected environments and situations. That's an incredible skill and I'm in awe that someone can articulate it so well."
According to Wenham, there's a wealth of "delicious drama" over the course of Top of the Lake, ranging from Robin's homecoming to the conflicts that emerge in Laketop's various factions and splinter groups.
And its six-hour duration allows the series to dig deeply into all these plots. The actor feels this is one reason why so many creative people are turning to television as a storytelling medium.
"I'm increasingly seeing material that's not only comparable to, but often exceeding feature films," he said.
"Jane has said before that this couldn't be made as a feature film - having six hours to actually explore this story really gave her the options to do exactly what she wanted to do. It could only have been done at that length.
"And I think more and more that's the case these days - you have very talented people opting to work in TV rather than film because they have the ability to fully realise their stories with fewer outside influences fiddling with their work."
In the case of Top of the Lake, the result is a project Wenham counts as one of the most rewarding of his career, especially in terms of the people he worked with.
"I've got to be honest, it really is something I'm very proud of," he said.
"I don't watch much of what I actually do, maybe one-third, but at the end of this I felt I was really proud to be part of it. I'm so glad to have my name on it."
Top of the Lake premieres on UKTV (pay-TV) on Sunday March 24 at 8.30pm
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