I just completed watching HBO’s True Detective and I have to say that is one if not the best TV show ever created. Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey deliver the best performances of their careers as Detectives Marty Hart and Rustin Cohle respectively. Initially they are trying to solve the murder of a girl found in the Louisiana woods but the show moves into the direction of the characters’ lives over the span of a few decades.
Detectives Hart and Cohle are complete opposites in every way. They don’t see eye to eye and have different outlooks on life. Hart is interested in having a good time and things being in control whereas Cohle is nihilistic and views life as a chore to get through. The two detectives butt heads as they try to make sense of the grisly murder they are assigned to as well as trying to come to terms with the choices they have made in their own personal lives.
From the very first episode of this show I was hooked. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s slow tracking shots and views of a stark Louisiana is quite something to see. There are many scenes where the color black is striking in comparison to the surroundings. There are also many scenes where Cohle senses are heightened specifically in episode four when he is in a firefight. Everything slows down and he tries to regain control over a very deteriorating situation.
Last year Matthew McConaughey’s career really took off with a series of roles in critically acclaimed films including “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Dallas Buyer’s Club”. I hope that next year he wins a much deserved Golden Globe for his performance on True Detective.
