In the recent years, every time when I browse through
Facebook or IMDb, someone is insisting that I really should be watching this
new must-see television series: “Homeland”, “Walking Dead”, American Horror
Story”, the list goes on. Yet, there’s three TV series, above all, that keeps
on springing up in my mind, when I think about American TV series: “The Wire”,
“Game of Thrones” and “Breaking Bad” (still haven’t watched “OZ” and
“Sopranos”) All sorts of people are
confessing that they are or were addicted to these series. Well, if you ask
what’s the secret behind this huge success? I have to say that they are
breaking most fundamental rules of Television. For example, “Game of Thrones”
maturely explores the political power, and the horrible things people do in
pursuit of it; Vince Gilligan’s “Breaking Bad” embarked on a larger-than-life
journey, tracing an arc, which was previously reserved only for iconic
characters of literature and cinema; “The Wire” showed us that
cop/justice/politics system were too robust to be brought down by few
angry citizens. Most importantly, all these TV series have largely avoided
spoon-fed-black-and-white characters. Well, now, we have yet another ground-breaking
TV show titled “True Detective” (2014 -- ) -- created by novelist Nic Pizzolatto – which
is taking the procedural dramas to another level.
“Bones”, “CSI”, “Criminal Minds” were some of the successful
police procedural TV shows. Each episode has a self-contained narrative with a
beginning and end, satiating the viewers’ needs for whodunit mysteries. Even
last year we had “Hannibal”, which made us think that the murder mysteries are
going to exhaust the viewers. However, “True Detective” has set broader themes
and goals that are so innovative than most others. FX’s “American Horror Story”
took the direct anthology approach: each season of the show has a fresh start
with new setting. Now, “True Detective” has taken this same approach to a step
further. American Horror Story used the
same cast members to portray the different characters in each season, whereas True
Detective only has plans to use its actors for the eight episode airing.
Another brave attempt is that “True Detective” has only one writer (Pizzolatto)
and one director (Cary Fukunaga). Usually, in a TV series, writing is done by a
group of talented guys and directors are never tied to the identity of a show.
This TV series has also attracted high profile Hollywood actors: Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. These excellent character artists, with
their strong artistic focus are slowly changing the perception that the ‘TV
actors’ belong to a lower circle than movie actors.
This eight-episode anthology also moves like a big movie: it
is filmed on excellent locations and the imagery is haunting as well as
beautiful. Recently, the season’s 4th episode created lot of buzz on
the internet: it is said to have used single six minute track shot – traversing
over fences and gunshots – to create a first-person experience for the viewer.
When was the last time we have seen such experiments in a TV series? Before
exploring the shows’ themes, let me explain the story briefly. The series
begins in Louisana, simultaneously, in 1995 and 2012. In 2012, the detectives
Marty Hart (Harrelson) and Rust Cohle (McConaughey) are separately interviewed
by the officers regarding a murder case they both work together in 95.
The story flashes back to the past, in 95, where a young
girl slashed, drugged, tortured was placed in a field, wearing a crown of
antlers. Rust is a burned-out former undercover narcotics cop. He is a mystical
figure, carrying some harrowing memories. To Hart’s dismay, Rust often spouts
some existential philosophy. Hart is the typical macho cop, a family man (with two
kids) and has a sex life outside marriage. The case, which looks like an occult
crime, gets more and more complicated as do the relationship between these two
men.
“True Detective” is definitely not fun entertainment (lacks
the black comedic notes of, say, “Breaking Bad”). A chilling darkness lurks
around each corner of the narrative and McConaughey’s character embraces the pessimism.
He says, “I think human consciousness is a misstep in evolution. We are things
that labor under the illusion of having a self, programmed with total assurance
that we are somebody, when in fact we are nobody.” He also holds many ideas
that are bleak and hard to swallow, but at the same time, most of his rambling
are thought-provoking and has been uncharted territory in popular TV shows. The
show has a unique approach to religion. One scene takes place inside a tent
revival meeting and Rust belittles the IQ of everyone assembled there. The
debate with Marty leads to a point asking, whether religion controls bad
behavior. Rust coolly says, “If the only thing keeping a person decent is the
expectation of divine reward, then brother that person is a piece of shit and
I’d like to get as many of them out in the open as possible.” Another
persisting theme is the interrogation. Rust is famous for his interrogation
technique. When the two detectives, in 2012, ask him about his methods, he
gives back a rattling response, “Everybody knows there’s something wrong with
them. They just don’t know what it is.”
Each frame is filled with paranoia and anxiety, but it is
never quite depressing, taking into account the nature of the story. It is an
enlivening experience to watch these detectives searching for the truth: maybe
it’s the details or the performances or the perfect realization of the mystery
genre. Whatever is the reason, “True Detective” perfectly incorporates big
ideas within a whodunit tale. I have watched the relayed five episodes and
think that the show will get more complicated, since our narrators unreliable,
divulging far from the real events (Five hours with these characters, you will
also feel that they more mysterious than ever). Whoever turns out to be the
killer or whatever is the reason, “True Detective” will definitely be one of
the best psychologically scary drama.
Trailer
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