True Detective, Season One:
In 2012, two detectives (Gilbough and Papania) interview two older detectives separately. These older detectives (Cohle and Hart) used to be pretty close, but have drifted apart since a falling out in 2002. In 1995 in Louisiana, these two detectives supposedly caught the two men responsible for several disturbing, ritualistic killings in the Vermilion Parish. The two interviewing detectives have discovered the killer has struck again, and want to know how the same killer could kill again is he/she was caught seventeen years earlier. The two older detectives must revisit their dark pasts and struggle with their inner demons to help these detectives solve a case that has haunted them for almost twenty years.
Like many great HBO shows, even though all the aspects are excellent, it's all about the performances. Matthew McConaughey plays Rust Cohle. He's the more dedicated of the two detectives, and it shows in that he barely interacts with his wife, and we almost only ever see him at his job. Unfortunately, this leads him to being a bit obsessed, and kind of drives him away from his friends and family. He is in fact so invested in his job he will commit crimes to be able to solve the case and catch the killer. He is also the more moral of the detectives, despite being very cynical and jaded. Woody Harrelson portrays Martin Hart, Cohle's ex-partner and former best friend. He is still on the police force, unlike Cohle who has since retired. Even though he's the Catholic one and Cohle is militantly anti-religious, he's actually the one who constantly contradicts the teachings of his faith: he's an adulterer, sometimes lies, and is amoral in other aspects. He's the even more flawed character, and even though he also wants to solve the case, he's not as willing to go as far as Cohle does. However, a redeeming quality is that he does have a strong urge to protect the innocent, especially young children (as he has two daughters himself), and becomes blinded by rage when he discovers child abuse. Michelle Monaghan plays Hart's bitter wife Maggie. As of 2012, they are divorced, and she is extremely displeased with him and Cohle. As of the 1995 timeline, he and Martin's marriage is already falling to pieces, and they are barely clinging on. Tory Kittles and Michael Potts play Detectives Thomas Papania and Maynard Gilbough, respectively. They are dedicated to solving the case, but are initially very distrusting of the two older detectives, and they are right to do so. Cohle and Hart have a sketchy history, so I wouldn't be too keen to trust them either. Kevin Dunn, Alexandra Daddario, Tess Harper, Jay O. Sanders, and Glenn Fleshler appear in smaller supporting roles. Daddario is Hart's young mistress, and she's kind of a selfish bitch. Fleshler has a very unsettling role near the end of the season, and he does an amazing job. He's an unknown actor, but he needs more work like this. All the performances are mesmerizing, but it's the two leads who really deliver the goods. I've been a fan of Harrelson and McConaughey's for some time, and this show cements their status as modern masters of the acting craft.
Besides the acting, the series also has excellent writing. Nic Pizzolatto (the show's creator) wrote the entire season, and he's an extraordinary writer for someone who seems relatively new to television (his only experience is writing two episodes of The Killing). He pens a very dark and realistic story, and Pizzolatto also creates an intriguing character study with the two main characters and (later on in the story) briefly gives insight into the demented mind of the killer.
The series is also (like many HBO series) very cinematic, and has beautiful cinematography and impressive sets and makeup effects (despite the latter being the least utilized of the three). We can thank Cary Joji Fukunaga (Sin Nombre, Jane Eyre) for the cinematography. He serves as an executive producer, but also directed all the episodes of the series. Much like Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones, they found the perfect director for these episodes. He has a lot of talent, and this is perfectly exemplified in the fourth episode, where an entire 8-9 minute sequence is done in one continuous shot (or it's convincingly made to look like one). It's astoundingly brilliant.
Another interesting decision was to go the route of Ryan Murphy's chilling American Horror Story, and have each season be a new story with new characters. I thought this was a great decision, as each season could focus on one mystery, and hold people's interest and build the tension, but not become like Twin Peaks (fantastic horror series, by the way) where it would lose many people's interests by stretching out the mystery too far and only last two short seasons. I also think although the decision to make it eight episodes long rather than the usual ten episodes was a bit odd, I do understand that if they added some extra padding to stretch it to ten episodes it would have felt too long and tedious in some episodes so I think eight is the perfect number, at least for this season.
The series really gets under your skin and is genuinely horrifying in some sequences. It's an incredibly original mix of crime drama/police procedural, Southern Gothic, and surreal horror. In fact, the villains are straight out of a cult/serial killer thriller, and are disturbing, disgusting, and incredibly nasty, and are some of the most unsettling and mysterious TV serial killers I've seen.
The show also has an absolutely fantastic soundtrack. T Bone Burnett composed the original music for the show, and it's hypnotic, creepy, and strange, a perfect fit for the tone. The "featured music" is also great, a good mix of Southern Gothic music, melancholy tunes, rock, and country. "Young Men Dead" by The Black Angels was definitely one of my favorite tracks. The opening theme, "Far From Any Road" by The Handsome Family, is a subtly eerie and moody song which fits the tone of the series: dark, bleak, and a bit depressing. I loved it, and the opening credits sequence is, like many HBO opening sequences, incredible and it shows off some of the characters and many different locations from the series, as well as showing images associated with the unique culture of Louisiana and the Southern U.S. in general.
True Detective is a complex, powerful, poignant, and addictive crime/horror drama with deeply flawed and hypocritical, yet relatable and human characters. It has a twisted, tense, and creepy storyline, and some excellent writing, breathtaking cinematography, exceptional performances, and I can't wait to see what the creators do with season two, and I hope that McConaughey and Harrelson return as well. 5/5 stars.
Episode List:
One- "The Long, Bright Dark"
Two- "Seeing Things"
Three- "The Locked Room"
Four- "Who Goes There"
Five- "The Secret Fate of All Life"
Six- "Haunted Houses"
Seven- "After You've Gone"
Eight- "Form and Void"
(Image: truedetective.wikia.com)
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