True Detective
Josh Larsen, referring to Inherent Vice uses the phrase "the plot is a joke". True Detective is a good example. Do you care who the killer is? Why he is killing? The plot performs the role of a cattle prod to zap the character out of the two main players. Events occur that force an emotional reaction. It gets them talking. It provides them with an excuse to talk about themselves and each other. It's McConaughey and Harrelson doing the talking. It's also M & H playing different ages of men. Any series, which puts Harrelson in the conservative of the two roles is probably going to extreme places. The McConaughey back story is awesomely extreme. It's an extremely bad idea for this man to be anywhere near this case or any murder. Harrelson is an anchor, but, being Woody, a consummate noir player; he gets to explain how he remains grounded- family, mistress, drink. Like a cop's holy trinity. The cop in a noir anyway. In a typical duality, he understands the madness in his partner, whilst despising his intellectual aloofness, his snobbish attitude to "down-home". The third major character is Louisiana. Harrelson respects it. McC disdains it. Dave Robidoux's Louisiana but a taste of Angel Heart's Louisiana also. The other reality that leads to madness and murder- the reality of supernatural religion. Louisiana's touch of madness and an unhinged Texas cop seeing things as he comes down from narcotics overload. A good old boy cop stuck in the middle. The beautiful extremities of character.