Campion, Englert: Perfect fit for motherhood exploration
It’s not always noteworthy when an actor works with a parent.
But when that parent is Palme d’Or winner Jane Campion — and the set in question is for “Top of the Lake: China Girl,” a sixhour exploration of motherhood — it’s especially relevant. Campion’s daughter, Alice Englert, plays Mary, a rebellious 18-yearold coming to terms with both her adoptive mother, Julia (Nicole Kidman), and her biological mother, Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss), the protagonist of “Top of the Lake.”
Where the show’s first installment was an excavation of rape culture, the second is about the complex landscape of motherhood. Set five years after the events of the first series, “China Girl” finds Robin in Sydney. Ostensibly, she’s hoping to restart her career as a detective. But she’s also looking for the daughter (Englert) she gave up for adoption after her brutal sexual assault two decades ago.
Her first case back on the job has her investigating the murder of a pregnant dead woman whose body was found in a suitcase that washed up on the beach.
With Englert in front of the camera and Campion behind it, maternal themes pervade the production. Englert blooms in front of Campion’s lens, leaning into the director’s emphasis on presence and physicality.
“You may think it’s an interesting layer,” Campion says, laughing, when asked about how motherhood came into play behind the camera. Though the director insists that Englert’s casting was strictly a work decision, in the next breath she points out how it filtered into the production. “Directing these difficult episodes with Alice, I really didn’t trust myself to push her hard enough,” she says. “It’s actually physically uncomfortable for me to see my daughter in distress, even if she’s acting. It’s easier for me if I’m not the one saying, ‘Do it again.’ ” (Campion, who co-created and executive-produces “Top of the Lake,” codirected with series newcomer Ariel Kleiman.)
That behind-the-scenes tangle of intimacy extends beyond just Campion and Englert: Kidman, a family friend, has known Campion since the actress was 14 and watched Englert grow up. In 1996, the two teamed on indie film “The Portrait of a Lady.” Working with Campion again “feels like coming home,” Kidman says.
“Top of the Lake: China Girl” debuts Sept. 10 on Sundance.