Jodie Foster in a still from ‘True Detective: Night Country’
| Photo Credit: JioCinema
The first thing you notice about this season of True Detective is that it is unlike any other previous season of True Detective. I mean this in the best way possible because if writer-director Issa López can harness the novel elements further, this might turn out to be the scariest-ever instalment of the series.
Set in a town in Alaska, during its sunless period, True Detective: Night Country zooms in on a small, isolated community as they deal with the consequences of a crime. When the town of Ennis is shrouded in darkness, eight men vanish into thin air from the remote research station they were working at. The only clue left behind? A severed tongue. Things get uglier when their frozen bodies (or corpsicles, as the internet has dubbed them) are found on the outskirts. Chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) quickly labels this a “shitbowl case” — one that will likely have no straight answer.
Danvers may be right though, because the way López is unravelling the mystery, we may not be left with a clear-cut conclusion to this season of True Detective. Whileborrowing the narrative tones that elevated the first season of the show, the latest one is careful to not repeat the same mistakes. The previous seasons of True Detective have traditionally gone back and forth between the versions of two detectives who worked on a case that took place a long time ago. The case generally tends to haunt them into their later life, when they finally reconcile with the conclusions. This season, however, firmly plants its feet in the present day.
True Detective: Night Country (English)
Director: Issa López
Cast: Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Fiona Shaw, Finn Bennett, Isabella Star LaBlanc, John Hawkes, and others
Episodes: 6
Runtime: 50 minutes – 1 hour
Storyline: In the sunless months of Alaska, eight men disappear into thin air and are later found frozen to death. As the police investigate, they find connections to a previously unsolved murder.
It can be said to resemble more closely toBroadchurch(2013) or Mare of Easttown(2021), wherein the life of a closely-knit town gets caught up in a case. Accordingly, López’s writing expands its territory beyond the personal lives of the detectives involved in the case, which also includes Trooper Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis). When Navarro gets wind of the new case, she tries to convince Danvers to re-open an old case that involved a woman whose tongue was also cut off. Back then, Navarro was the first to find the murdered woman, who like her was an Iñupiat woman.
López’s writing choices result in a dynamic that grounds the show’s main plot and gives a deeper dimension to the town that was witness to the crime. From the first two episodes available for review, it is clear that the story is a well-thought-out one, and this is also reflected in the pacing. As the main plot of the dead bodies unravels, López takes a good amount of time to stretch the plot in multiple directions. This doesn’t affect the intrigue now, but with only four more episodes left, it could become a problem later.
An example of such a possibility may be seen in the relationship that Danvers and Navarro share. It is non-existent, even hostile up until the end of the episode. While this may be a natural development concerning their characters, with such a limited time available, they do not seem on track for camaraderie.
However, there is still much to consider and four more episodes to go before any conceivable conclusions can be drawn about the show. Both Jodie Foster and Kali Reis are delivering marvellously frigid performances as they traverse the frosty landscape. Complimented by Tár (2022) cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister’s quizzing lens, the show currently offers much to look forward to every week.
The first two episodes of True Detective: Night Country are currently streaming on JioCinema, with new episodes every Monday