Nearly 25 years ago, Jane Campion made Cannes Film Festival history by becoming the first woman to win the coveted Palme D’Or, with The Piano. And at this year’s festival, the filmmaker returned to make another kind of history with Top of the Lake: China Girl, one of two television shows to ever premiere seasons as part of the event. (The other, David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, debuted Thursday).
Speaking to Vanity Fair earlier this week, Campion and her stars Elisabeth Moss and Gwendoline Christie said that the Cannes invitation was completely unexpected.
“We didn’t think Cannes would come to us,” explained Campion.
“And they may not have five years ago,” added Moss, pointing out the evolution of the festival. “When we were invited to Cannes, we had quite the freakout. There were a lot of texts with many exclamation points.”
The new season of the gorgeous detective drama features Moss once more as Detective Robin Griffin, though this time she is paired with a new partner—Miranda, played by Gwendoline Christie of Game of Thrones fame. The duo investigate the case of an Asian woman who washes ashore on Bondi Beach inside a suitcase. The new episodes are again steeped in sharp writing and interesting power dynamics, with Alice Englert playing Mary, the now-teenage daughter Robin gave up for adoption years ago. Oscar winner Nicole Kidman rounds out the incredible cast, playing Mary’s adoptive mother.
In Top of the Lake’s second season, Campion clearly enjoyed pitting two of television’s most badass females against each other—Elisabeth Moss (formerly Peggy Olson on Mad Men) and Gwendoline Christie (who plays Thrones warrior Brienne of Tarth)—and toying with their physical differences, making the 6’3” Christie a warm admirer of Moss’s 5’3” cold, accomplished detective.
“Lizzie’s character has a disdain of Gwen’s character’s emotion,” explained Campion. “And Gwen’s character is such a fan of Lizzie’s—you know, ‘The way you solved that problem was so amazing.’ I loved it because when you’re someone as short as Lizzie, you don’t want to be next to someone as tall as Gwen, and here she is forced to be as part of her job. That’s just a little bit of physical comedy.”
Campion had already cast Moss in the first season, and said that she immediately knew Christie would be the perfect foil for Moss upon seeing her on HBO.
“I did see her in Game of Thrones and I thought, ‘I really need her in the show,’’ said Campion. “It was inspiring for me to write a character for Gwendoline and to have her and Lizzie get to work together. . . I wanted to write a really strong female friendship that starts out negatively, and the [characters] have to really work their way to discover each others’ qualities.”
“It takes these characters a long time to move and find the polar opposites of themselves that exist in the form of each other,” added Christie. “That’s always a fascinating character arc. But for me it was very fun to play a woman absolutely full of flaws, and not capable—next to [Moss’s character], who is so entirely capable.”
“Miranda kind of gives off this exterior of being open and emotional, but inside is quite strong,” added Moss. “And Robin is the opposite—she gives off this exterior of being strong but is really, really sensitive.”
Despite their differences, Campion wrote all of her characters from the same, deeply personal place.
“They are all my avatars, really,” Campion said. “They are parts of me that I don’t really express properly. I always think of [Moss] as the deep dark one who runs like underground streams. She has emotions and moods that are so unique and special, but she also has that sense of being the girl who is in the second row from the back who is not picked out. That part of me that really feels left out, yet is not feeling sorry for yourself. She just says, ‘Fuck you,’ and does it. The strong loner who actually stands up for others.”
“Gwendoline is multi-dimensional. She is like a female goddess who holds extraordinary warmth and emotion,” continued Campion. “I feel like Gwendoline just defies senses and opens your heart and makes you feel.”
Top of the Lake: China Girl received critical raves and an exuberant standing ovation at Cannes, with some critics even declaring it the highlight of the fest. And at a screening of the episodes, Campion, who was the head of the main competition jury in 2014, took advantage of the festival atmosphere to invite audience members to come up to her between episodes and offer their feedback. (They enthusiastically did, and she enthusiastically listened.)
Given the ever-expanding number of television shows available—thanks to streaming companies and other mediums—Campion was practical about one additional perk the Cannes Film Festival provided.
“This is such a treat for us to experience the show at a festival, but also just to give us a profile as a TV series,” said Campion. “Because it is such a competitive field out there, we want any edge we can get our hands on.”
