Disclaimer: I have never been a fan of TRUE DETECTIVE. I tried watching Season 1 and hated it. Pretentious and pompous. All style. No substance. I think I made it 3 or 4 episodes before I bailed and never watched again. But I was excited for Season 4, because I love a good Arctic thriller and I have been an unabashed Jodie Foster fan since CANDLESHOE. So I watched with eager anticipation.
I was largely disappointed. Everything I hated about Season 1 is still here and then some. Entire scenes that make no sense but happen anyway because the writer needs X to happen and thinks they look cool. Not a single likeable character onscreen. And dialogue that ranges from the pretentious to the preposterous. Elmore Leonard, the King of Great Dialogue, had great advice:
If it sounds like writing, then rewrite it. The dialogue in this show ALL sounds written, and not just written but agonized over by four-year film student. Every line I get the impression the writer spent an hour chewing off a pencil eraser to make sure every line was Important with a capital I.
"Do you believe in God?"
"Yes."
"Must be comforting."
"What?"
"Knowing you're not alone."
"We're all alone. Even God."
Seriously. Who talks like that????? No one I have ever met. But the writer needs to let us know how smart he is and how Important (with a capital I) this is. I salute any writer who is trying to bring out deep themes in a story, but learn the value of
subtext for cryin' out loud.
And again, I love Jodie Foster. I have loved Jodie Foster since I was a kid. But man is her character badly written, and she seems to be getting some extraordinarily bad direction in her performance. I get the impression the director is standing behind camera telling her, "Remember. You are a True Detective. Very smart. But otherwise, you are just a hyperactive a-hole who mistreats everyone in her life. Because this is Important (with a capital I)."
That said, the show wasn't a complete wash. I love the setting. If they didn't film this in the north in the middle of winter, they sure did a good job giving us the illusion they did. The show
looks fantastic. And I love the spooky and possibly supernatural goings-on. The cast is largely great, although the script isn't giving anyone much to work with.
I'll watch a bit more, but unless the story shows marked improvement, I doubt I'm in for the long haul.
Oh, and I almost forgot: Which lunatic decided on that excruciating opening song for a theme? Seriously. You could fill a Hefty bag with pots and pans and record it tumbling down three flights of rickety stairs and it would be a more pleasant aural experience than that "song."