Article first published as TRUE DETECTIVE Review on Seat42F.
By the time you read this, you’ve likely
already heard of HBO’s TRUE DETECTIVE, premiering this weekend. And
while hearing of it, you’ve probably noticed words like “magnificent,”
”intoxicating,” and “exceptional” tossed around. Yes, no show or movie
releases quotes about itself without presenting their work in the best
possible light. But in this case, if anything, those words do not do
TRUE DETECTIVE enough justice.
TRUE DETECTIVE may be a crime show, it’s true, but it’s on a much
higher plane that most of its genre, with a focus on characters and
mythology spanning seventeen years, from 1995 to 2012, rather than on a
case of the week. In this way, it’s like Broadchurch or The Killing, but
I would argue it’s even a step smarter than those in the writing and
acting. It’s a phenomenal, memorable program, everything a drama should
be.
The biggest pitfall a new series faces
when being lauded with such praise is how it will continue to maintain
such high standards over time. TRUE DETECTIVE solves this by being an
anthology series. Each season will be self-contained, with its own cast
and characters. Even if the show does not get a second outing (though it
has not aired, a renewal seems a given at this point), everything will
be wrapped up at the conclusion of these eight episodes, which should
leave viewers very satisfied, indeed.
This tale begins with “The Long Bright
Dark.” A young woman is found murdered and posed in a grotesque,
artistic fashion, a la NBC’s Hannibal, and Detectives Rust Cohle
(Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club, Magic Mike) and Martin Hart
(Woody Harrelson, No Country For Old Men, Cheers) are assigned the case.
Naturally, they immediately face difficulties due to a lack of clues.
As they figure things out, older crimes
begin to come into play. A local mystery of a missing girl may very well
be tied into this most recent act, and the men are smart enough to see
this, following any lead they get. They don’t make it too far in the
first hour, but there is definitely lots of depth to plumb over the rest
of the run.
In 2012, two other detectives are
grilling our heroes, who haven’t seen one another in a decade, on this
case. But they questioners actually seem at least as interested in the
dynamic of the partnership than the dead girl, which begs the question,
why? And what went wrong that split them up?
Not that Hart and Cohle were ever good
friends. At the beginning of “The Long, Bright Dark,” they have been
working together for three months. However, they’ve yet to have a
personal conversation. Perhaps spurred on by the case, or finally
accepting Hart’s wife’s (Michelle Monaghan, Gone Baby Gone) dinner
invitation, Cohle comes out of his shell. Hart immediately wants to push
him back into it.
The performances by Harrelson and
McConaughey are nothing short of amazing. McConaughey has been trying to
break the “shirtless guy” mold he developed early in his film career,
and TRUE DETECTIVE definitely proves his chops as a traumatized
alcoholic obsessed with death. Harrelson, meanwhile, has long been
respected, and this will be icing on his cake resume, playing the
intelligent family man, fair-minded enough to appreciate Cohle’s
contributions, even as he despises the guy.
Both men are very different in the past
and the present, both in physical appearance and in attitude. All of
this comes together in a very visceral, moving way. The makeup and hair
choices are flawless, hard to believe the guys could look so different,
and the actors in the 2012 stuff draw us in with how their characters
have changed, and we wonder what their lives are like now and how they
got that way.
The two leads are the reason to tune in,
pure and simple. As I said, the story if phenomenal, brilliantly
crafted and well executed with a beautiful production, but it’ll be hard
to focus on anything other than McConaughey and Harrelson because they
have such presence. These are definitely defining roles for them, even
though they’ve already had plenty of good parts before.
TRUE DETECTIVE airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
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