Long before the series officially premiered, "True Detective" has already attracted the attention of the public. First of all, it has a unique genre form: Anthology series usually consist of a short story, but series like "True Detective" composed of a season-by-season independent long story are rare. ("American Horror Story" is another example). Secondly, the production model of "True Detective" is also very different from most American dramas: most American dramas are directed by multiple directors for different episodes, but the first season of "True Detective" was directed by director Kerry Fukunaga throughout, and The photographers, editors, art and soundtrack staff of this play did not frequently change throughout the season, all of which ensured the uniformity of the first season of "True Detective". Of course, it is the joining of several Hollywood heavyweight actors that most attract ordinary audiences. In recent years, Matthew McConaughey, who has turned gorgeously, will play the leading role of Luster in this season's "True Detective", and the powerful player Woody Harrison will partner with McConaughey for the third time, playing him Marty, partner in the play. "Source Code" heroine Michelle Monaghan plays Marty's wife in the play. These three Hollywood stars are a solid guarantee for the performance of the show, and they also successfully slapped the audience's appetite before the broadcast. .
Anti-traditional drama series with the supreme atmosphere
The first season of "True Detective" did not live up to the expectations of the fans. In the first episode, the slow rhythm and philosophical narration established the coquettish tone of the show. After the layers of the second and third episodes, the drama finally detonated the reputation of the drama with the sharp and swift plot development of the fourth and fifth episodes, and at the same time, it also made countless fans immersed in the dark tone of the drama for a long time. Can't extricate themselves. The first season of "True Detective" can attract so many loyal fans, the reason after all is due to its slant style. The helm and screenwriter Nick Pizzolato did not focus on the reasoning of the case like the usual crime writers. He himself once said that the case is actually just the "McGoffin" of the whole story. . What is really important to this story is to create an environment that attracts people and examine all aspects of the life of the characters in the play. In terms of atmosphere creation, Pizzolatto and Fuyong undoubtedly have extraordinary performances. In Fuyong's lens, the low and flat skyline of Louisiana always oppresses characters and audiences like a throat. The air is always frozen under the sunbeams containing impurities, and the shirts of Luster and Marty are often printed with dull drops of sweat. Although the sky is always clouded, the thunder is always reverberating in the distance, but it is not visible. Let the depressive emotions of the characters in the film get vented by the downpour. Dilapidated industrial areas, abandoned churches overgrown with grass, smoky metal bars, and intricate forest labyrinths, these unforgettable visual images alone are enough to make viewers feel insecure in this impenetrable and oppressive atmosphere. road. And this damp, dreary, shadow-shrouded environment also corresponds to the dark perspective of the protagonist Luster on the world and life.
The birth of a male idol
If the dull and depressing atmosphere is the door to lead the audience into the world of "True Detective", then the detective Rast, played by Matthew McConaughey, is the piece of "True Detective" that makes you unable to look away. Magnet. This character often wanders on the narrow boundary between rationality and madness, tenacity and paranoia, positivity and disillusionment, rationality and sensibility, but his righteousness and evilness are his unique characteristics to conquer the audience. On the surface, Luster, who has a history of alcohol and drug abuse, has low EQ. He is a mess when dealing with interpersonal relationships, refuses to open his heart to others, and even often reveals misogynistic anti-social remarks in his speech. However, in his heart, Luster suffered the most torment, and he had the strictest moral standards for others and himself. His torture came from the premature death of his daughter, which triggered his near-paranoid obsession with this serial murder involving women and children in the play, and his apparent indifference and harshness stemmed from his human nature. Very deep insight. Although he hates mundane things, he is the righteous man who most wants to eradicate the wicked for the society. Although he is unkind to others, he has a sense of responsibility and commitment to every choice in his life. . These contradictory and unified characteristics can be vividly presented in front of the audience, undoubtedly thanks to McConaughey's wonderful performance. His grim face like a Greek sculpture, the thoughtful look in the distance, his straightforward and capable posture in the process of handling the case, and the lonely look of his middle-aged decadence, made Luster's painful soul overflow the TV screen. , Shrouded the hearts of the audience, and his magnetic narration with a Texas accent is the twelfth sign that permeates the whole play. The reverberation is endless, and even some weak-willed audiences will pick up their addiction to tobacco and alcohol and become infected. Mild depression.
In this era when the base rot is sweeping the world, and the butter niches are driven by ducks to serve as tough guys. Rast, played by McConaughey, makes masculinity stand up on the screen again, and also makes masculine, tough, tough and proud These deconstructed words have regained their due dignity. For Hollywood, masculine actors have been interrupted in the past ten years. Among the older generation of acting tough guys, Pacino has grown old, and De Niro is immersed in such things as "The Boss Stays Away" and "The Gangster Family". In the movie, he spoofed the masculine image he relied on to become famous. Although the Mesozoic Gosling and Bell were barely convincing in appearance, they were totally unable to talk with the predecessors at the internal level of accumulation. McConaughey, who has experienced several ups and downs in his career, has always had an excellent understanding of acting, and his bumpy acting career has also accumulated more internal material for him, which allows him to play a similar masculine role with ease and ease. Whether it is his loud voice when confronting the drug organization in "Dallas Buyers Club", or his responsibility and calmness when facing personal grievances with Marty in "True Detective", we can see a long-lost experience. Trustworthy male idol. In this age of not being paranoid to be famous, and not being able to gain attention without being overpowered, McConaughey's calm and masculine image is not only unique, but may also be able to give new actors some inspiration and let the natural masculinity reappear on the screen. Mainstream in aesthetics.
The fusion of heroes and mortals
complements Luster's lonely heroic image. It is the detective partner Marty played by Woody Harrison. Luster's strict standards for himself and others make ordinary people only admire but not practical, and the human weakness revealed in the mundane figure of Marty is even closer to the audience. Marty is a police detective who is good at dealing with interpersonal relationships. A stable family life is his support. Frequent cheating is the continuous energy that stimulates his ordinary life. He doesn't think about profound philosophical issues like Luster, and only seeks to live a life. He sometimes uses his power to avenge his personal revenge, rectify his unpleasant criminals, and sometimes sympathizes with him, and wants to help those who don't need help at all. But it was his mundane side that eventually led to the breakdown of his family life and work relationship. His anxiety, cowardice, and lack of responsibility are fully revealed in the rivalry between him and his wife, and his lazy attitude in his work, which is not enterprising, is also the fuse that has allowed Luster to break with him for many years.
However, under the weakness of these mortals, Marty is still an upright and kind man. His sleek and moderate personality has resisted a lot of external pressure for Raster, who plays cards in an unreasonable manner. His rooted in practical thinking also happens to complement Raster's metaphysical thinking. When Luster in the last episode stagnated because he couldn’t understand the meaning of the murderer’s dyeing his ears green, it was Marty who used practical thinking to infer that the murderer was actually painting the victim’s new house by accident. The color of the paint, so that the identity of the murderer surfaced. The collision of thinking between Luster and Marty not only provides a lot of humor for the gloomy series, but also makes the images of the two appear more vivid and rich in mutual contrast.
The reincarnation
"True Detective", which should not end, gained the highest reputation after the end of the first season, which is also closely related to the ingenious image processing methods of the show. In the first six episodes of the series, the narrative focuses on scenes where black detectives interrogate Marty and Luster respectively, and retrospects the two's cooperation experience between 1995 and 2002, and the images of the series also flash from time to time. Back, sometimes jumping, sometimes interrupted by the protagonist’s rhetoric, and sometimes the different views of the two protagonists are embedded in the same scene to reflect the differences in their personalities. What’s more interesting is that the words of the two protagonists sometimes deviate from the image, and at other times they are completely opposite to the actual image. These subtle techniques greatly enrich the sense of time and space in the drama "True Detective", making it an audiovisual language. The film is closer to the film, and the 35mm photographic medium is also a factor that makes the image quality of "True Detective" detached from other American dramas. Another topic that cannot be circumvented is the 6-minute long shot at the end of the fourth episode. Kerry Fukuyong’s scheduling ability in this shot without any special effects is not inferior to any Hollywood director. , This shot also set a new benchmark for the audiovisual language of American dramas.
However, after the end of the season, "True Detective" will still give people a feeling of unfulfilled meaning, which may be directly related to Pizzolatto's thinking that emphasizes characters and situations, and neglects reasoning and motivation. In order to create a suspenseful atmosphere, Pizzolato has tirelessly laid out the religious background of Louisiana in the first three and fifth episodes, as well as the governor’s brother, Father Edwin Tuttle, who has nothing to do with religious schools in the state and even the police. The unincorporated control, and the Cthulhu myth system that he tried so hard to quote, made the case even more confusing. However, the length of 8 hours obviously cannot accommodate Pizzolatto’s ambitions, which makes the end of the season a little weak, and the unfathomable evil is still accused by an evil person in the end, and his criminal motives are also not. It has not been explained clearly, this inevitably makes people feel a little sloppy. The sudden acceleration of the narrative rhythm in the last two episodes of the film seems to be Pizzoolato's helpless action under the pressure of time length, but this slightly violates the characteristics of the success of the entire season. What attracts the audience to the situation is precisely the thought of eternal reincarnation in Luster's words. It tells people's helplessness and powerlessness in the face of fate. It also makes the passage of time seem so calm and indifferent, but it is only natural. When Luster and Marty got rid of this cycle and went forward to eradicate the wicked like the protagonists in countless detective stories, the drama "True Detective" also lost its uniqueness to attract audiences to some extent. Re-entered into the serial murder type routine.
For Luster, the most complete ending may be to die with the evil murderer and get rid of the endless eternal reincarnation. However, what most people expect is still the happy ending of the success of the righteous. The first season of "True Detective" came to an end in a way that one wanted, and Matthew McConaughey also personally admitted that he would not appear in the second season of the show. Perhaps this kind of regret is another kind of perfection for us. After all, no one wants to see Luster, who is unwilling to compromise, degenerate into a soap opera character who constantly quarrels with Marty during the season's plot development. The story of Marty and Luster ended in the hazy night sky of Louisiana, and the unique Luster completed his mission. He would only circulate in the audience's mind and linger for a long time.
Originally published in "Movie World", please do not reprint
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