‘True Detective: Night Country’: Jodie Foster and the dark night of the soul
What differentiates the fourth season from the others is that it has done something totally original, while still respecting what came before it and using the best of previous episodes
I fantasize that I’m sitting there wondering why the fourth season of True Detective has received such negative reviews, and suddenly Jodie Foster — playing the role of Detective Liz Danvers — appears before me to tell me, as she has been telling her pupil, the officer Peter Prior, throughout the season, that I’m simply not asking the right question.
A lot of good content has already been written about why so many people are so defensive about the fact that Issa López, the screenwriter and director of season four, as well as two magnificent actresses — a veteran Foster who has gotten us used (if that is possible) to her boundless talent and the newcomer Kali Reis, an authentic force of nature — decided that this time they wanted to play around with their little TV toy. This isn’t a war of the sexes, but a full-on offensive by those who are incapable of getting over their own prejudices. Their penance is in their sin.
I think that the Danvers-approved question I should be asking myself is what this season of True Detective has done differently — and, in my opinion, better — than the previous ones. I’ve watched every season of the series, a franchise that has never been on my list of favorites. Different casts and location changes always made me expect something different. But while the places and faces changed, the spirit always remained the same. I will say that the more-than-intended depth (at time pretentious) caused me distaste. But even more so the carelessness of the structure, the plot twists and the pace, which are basic elements of the noir genre.
The polar night has been a dark night of the soul indeed. We have been guided through it by its excellent protagonists, but also by a stupendous group of supporting actors (Fiona Shaw, John Hawkes, Christopher Eccleston, among others). The latest season has maintained all the pillars of the genre — the hostile surroundings, an investigation that’s bigger than what it seems and clashing agents who are forced to work together and deal with personal problems they are trying to flee from — and utilized them brilliantly, without putting itself above them. And the production has been impeccable (the soundtrack deserves a special mention).
Nobody can say for certain if leaving the fictional Alaskan town of Ennis behind is truly possible, as Detective Danvers concludes at the end of the season... but having visited it from the sofa has definitely been worth it.
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