*some spoilers ahead*
The text was written
The article signed
Checked out the new season
These guys sure whine
I was perplexed
The critics cried
Is there a good show here,
Well disguised?
Every once in a while a show comes along that not only knows exactly what approach it wants to take, but also really wants to remind you of just how badass and cool it is. I decided to check out the second season of HBO’s True Detective just out of sheer curiosity, and as of this writing still yet to watch the first season storyline starring Matthew McConaughey. I’m just judging the Vinci arc strictly on its own merits, and the trailer looked cool, so to steal a phrase from Mr. Enter- let’s talk about it.
As far as the show’s themes, some of the reviews intrigued me in their mentioning of a sense of stunted manhood and masculinity, among other things. I certainly got just that, on top of a well directed, stylish and often strongly acted contemporary noir- but also one that at times get hampered by an increasingly muddled plot, a plethora of suspects and red herrings, and a grim atmosphere that at times comes off- for me at least- as unintentionally funny.
The most important player is already dead before the show begins. In the industrial town of Vinci, CA, a planner named Ben Caspere teams up with the self-ruminating but still ambitious mobster Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn) to purchase a valuable plot of available land where a high speed railway is slated for construction (thanks also in part to Frank having a crapload of toxic waste dumped on the site). In the first episode Vaughn adds a cute fourth wall break holding up a newspaper article on the city’s corruption- “What’s this? An eight-part series?”
Unfortunately, a brooding but motorcycle loving police officer named Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch) discovers on the side of a road that Caspere has met an untimely and rather nasty end, of which the full details I will not spoil because seriously, ew. This promps Frank and Ben’s partner Osip to hightail it outta there, leaving Semyon and his reluctant wife Jordan (Kelly Reilly) millions of dollars in the red, out of the deal and bent on revenge against whoever screwed him over.
Frank’s (assumed) ace in the hole is Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell), a boozy and cynical Vinci detective who stays loyal after Semyon led him to take down a man who he thinks is his wife’s assailant. Under a police department as compromised as he is, Ray tries to walk both sides of the law, giving his friend information while also trying to crack the Caspere case all without rocking any boats. But in the world of True Detective the past apparently always catches up to you, and his struggles to reconnect with his estranged son in the middle of an ugly separation start to take an emotional toll on him and impede whatever deduction skills he has- at first.
Following what could only be described as a David Lynchinan “spiritual death” during an encounter with a gun-toting man in a bird mask, Velcoro gradually begins to get his groove back, and even starts to regain a bit of his morality. Sadly, Psycho Bird (that’s my name for him. I was going to call him Hostage Taking Bird at first, but TNA Wrestling doesn’t need me to make them look silly) makes off with a valuable hard drive containing valuable clues after the attack.
This is the biggest no-sell against a giant lunatic crow since Triple H vs. Sting at Wrestlemania 31.
So Ray forms a crime fighting trio with Woodrugh and Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams, who still looks adorable even as a foul mouthed tough cop), and eventually all three of their tragic backstories work their way into the story. Paul still lives with the shame of a botched mission during his time with merc team Black Mountain on top of his repressed homosexuality, and Ani still carries emotional scars from her childhood as the daughter of a self help guru- who it turns out has connections with Mayor Chessani and some wild parties Caspere attended back in the day (apparently Benny was quite the closet freak).
As unabashedly dark as the show is, the three do form a quiet but noticeable bond in being able to understand each other’s problems. Meanwhile Frank soon finds one of his associates dead, and he gathers up his former gang buddies to help deduce who’s coming after him and his hopeful empire. Maybe it was the people who paid to see Fred Claus?
With new characters popping up in every episode and almost all of them with fresh information to throw in the pot, True Detective probably would be a complicated watch even without show runner Nic Pizzolato’s weird and metaphorical dialog. I have to admit this is probably the most I’ve enjoyed Vince Vaughn, as I’m not really a fan of him as a comedian but he’s okay when given a decently written role. And Semyon, for all of his repressed childhood issues, self doubt and impotency is an effective and hatable villain- he’s definitely someone you want to see get his. But I’m sorry, this is not going to be a classic line to quote among your friends:
Uh Frank, you might wanna see a doctor for that.
I will say one thing that makes me want to check out the first season is its use of one director (Cary Joji Fukunaga) as opposed to the revolving door the second season does, which results in multiple styles and approaches on display. Justin Lun (of Fast and Furious fame) helms the first two episodes which are balanced between character development, small talk and a few major action scenes, before Janus Metz does the rather talky third episode followed by Jeremy Podeswa’s “Down Will Come”, and oh it comes down all right. Its ending shootout is so over the top, it essentially signals the show’s turning point from a monologue driven neo-noir (with a lonesome cowboy protagonist) into a freaking Robocop-ish bangfest. And Ani, the next time you go undercover and someone offers you some Molly, do the Nancy Reagan dance. Kendrick Lamar warned you about that stuff, girl. Being sober tends to make you less stabby, jus’ sayin’.
To me the biggest issue with the Vinci storyline is that it wants to do too much. At times it seems committed to a slow burn but at other times the pace picks up so frantically and new clues start flooding in to where it’s hard to folow even when paying close attention. Not to mention that the constant brooding of the cast gets to a point where you just want Joy from Inside Out to run in and give these guys a shot of Prozac. Emotionally damaged heroes can be very entertaining, but TD2 seems to view the sufferings of its protagonists as oddly poetic- something else that comes across in the bizarre and haughty text.
*all in unision* BITCH BETTER HAVE OUR MONEY! Ani: Ya’ll should know us well enough! *all in unison* BITCH BETTER HAVE OUR MONEY!
A number of critics are tearing into True Detective Season 2 harder than Velcoro tears into a bottle of Jack, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see a lot of their complaints, and agreed with a few. The story and its resolution are very grim, neo-noir overdrive, and at times it does get self-important and a bit pretentious. However, I have to say I enjoyed a number of the performances from the cast, and I think they get as much as they can out of some very complicated and convoluted material. McAdams is good as a fiery badass cop, and playing against type she’s arguably the most effective (and scariest) of the main three. Kitsch’s Woodrugh comes off very closed at first but still manages to earn some audience sympathy with limited time, and Farrell makes Velcoro into an entertaining sad sack who can still pull himself together just enough.
I don’t think it falls completely into hopeless nihilism, there’s at least the sense Ani, Ray and Paul want to make themselves into better people and Semyon’s rise and falls feels apt enough. But other than that I think TDS2 is definitely an acquired taste, so if you are already part of the Pizzolato faithful you’ll have a scowlingly good time with it. I admire it for some cool cinematography, a catchy Leonard Cohen theme, a bit of fun action and a couple of interesting fantasy sequences now and then, but for me it’s also kinda hard to take completely seriously. Overall I’d say my feelings are mixed.