Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson star as detectives Spencer "Rust" Cohle and Martin "Marty" Hart in this unique feeling neo-noir/southern gothic series.
What makes it unique compared to other mystery series? Well, its story structure is a good starter. It tells the story of detectives Rust and Marty in 1995 as they track a suspected serial killer, but the story is as told by the two of them seventeen years after the fact as they are questioned separately by police after copycat killings occur.
But while it has a well-done mystery that suitably concludes by the show's end, it focuses on the lives of these two detectives across these timelines. Rust is a nihilist and an outsider disconnected with much of society, Marty is a hotheaded and often unpleasant man who desperately tries to stop his family from slipping away from him.
Because we skip from 1995 and 2012, we see perspectives from the two of them on the things that have happened. Marty has a lot of little moments in this series that make him interesting, even if he's an often bad person. Rust is different - if anything, we see his mental condition and his attitude deteriorate by 2012, whereas Marty shows signs of regret with the decisions he had made.
These two men often conflict in 1995. Rust has a tendency to go on his nihilistic rants and his pessimistic observations on society, while Marty wants to hear none of it. Marty is also a much more conventional detective than Rust is; Rust is perfectly willing to break the law and do dangerous and reckless things in order to the solve the case he's been assigned to.
His persistence with the case is one element that leads to conflict between them, but their shared interesting of finding the serial killer brings them to be close as friends of sorts. It makes the inevitable fallout that's alluded to in the 2012 timeline all the more sad when you see it play out.
The mystery that spans across those seventeen years isn't especially complex, but the series is directed and written in such a way that many scenes are wonderfully atmospheric, creepy, and sometimes intense. One particular scene involves a six-seven minute long tracking shot that's probably one of the best directed moments of television I've ever seen.
The above elements that I noted also can all be at least partly attributed to the setting. The swamps of Louisiana and the structures therein that you see invoke a sense of helplessness and feeling of creeping darkness. The fear of the unknown is often in full force even in daytime, where many of the most intense scenes in the show take take place.
The show ultimately manages to do an impressive amount of things in just eight episodes. With how important the characters and plot are, you never get a feeling that what's going on is filler or could've been skipped over. It's chock-full of memorable and interesting scenes, and I never felt like it was plodding or buying time.
The fact that it's an anthology series owed to how intense and atmospheric it was at times - these characters and this story are only for a season, and the second season will feature something completely different in terms of cast and plot lines. This especially made the final episode one of the more compelling episodes of television in recent memory.
To anybody that enjoys dark noir series, I recommend this. I should give an obvious content warning, but given it aired on HBO I think most people would get that. The TV-MA VSL rating is more than just earned.
I intend to do a spoiler-filled analysis of this series at some point, but my rating of the show is a 9/10. I think it's the best new series this year, and has tons of potential going into next year when they get a new cast. Props to Nic Pizzolato, Cary Fukunaga, and the cast and crew for creating such an impressive piece of work.
PS: I wrote this on a whim late at night, pardon any potential typos I made.
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