Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are executive producers and stars in the story of a couple of backwoods Policemen in Louisiana. One is a little dim and one is a little super genius. The story is split between now, whenever that is, and about fifteen years back. Our damaged heroes get the call to investigate a murder where a woman’s body has been posed Hannibal Lecter style. She is surrounded by Blair Witch style twig sculptures that may or may not have some occult meaning. Their job is to find out who done it.
In the present we find our heroes greatly changed from their crime fighting days and being interviewed by two young black detectives who are recording their interviews on small cameras. They mainly just sit and listen as MConaughey and Harrelson talk about the good old days and how their personal lives affected their work. Woody is dressed in a suit and seems mostly normal. Matthew has left the force and gone a little feral. The contrast between now and then can be interesting.
Since it’s HBO we have a bit of nudity and profanity and a number of gruesome crime scene images. We also have really good actors and through three episodes the writing has been pretty damned tight. There are hints and clues sprinkled sparingly throughout each episode, the mystery is hidden behind the mundane stories of infidelity and drunkenness. There are a number of fun visuals that make True Detectives worth careful watching. One of our heroes talks in five dollar words that also make it worth listening to. A running gag has Woody complaining about Matthew’s Moby Dick like prose and no one wants to hear anything Matthew has to say.
I like True Detectives a lot. I especially like the opening credits with their very nice visuals and music.
