True Detective: Night Country

I am one of the many fans of the HBO series True Detective.  Season one, anyway.  I haven't checked out Seasons Two and Three, the former not especially well received.  Season Four, which concluded earlier this week, has a fresh perspective and location.  Writer Issa Lopez would serve as showrunner and direct all six episodes, lending a feminist bent to what had thus far been a testosterone fueled series.  It would be the first season to have a subtitle: "Night Country".   This refers to the twenty-four hour darkness that envelops the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska during a more bleak than usual wintertime. 

It also refers to something more existential, but you'll have to discover that for yourself.  The season begins with the mysterious deaths of several research scientists, found naked and frozen in a lake.  Chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) investigates, eventually teaming with estranged former partner Trooper Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis).  Flashbacks gradually reveal why things turned sour between them.  Danvers is not highly regarded around Ennis, partially due to her promiscuity with some local husbands.  Foster plays this rather unlikable character - who suffers some crippling past trauma - with enough dimension for us to empathize, at least some of the time.  She has several strong moments. 

It's clear by episode two that "Night Country", which will remind some viewers of John Carpenter's version of THE THING, THE SHINING, and maybe even Twin Peaks, is far more interested in character study than procedural,  maybe a bit too much.   More time than necessary is spent on subplots.  While protests of the Inupiat people (indigenous Alaskans) will be integral to the overall storyline,  Lopez's attempts to mythologize them is mostly heavy handed.  A separate series or film could explore their culture exclusively, without the thriller elements.  Here, I just wanted more thriller, more nuts and bolts detecting, which often feels neglected.

Maybe I just wasn't asking the right questions?

There are several connections and allusions to season one, including a key line of dialogue and a relentlessly downbeat tone.  These are miserable people who make each other profoundly unhappy, feelings compounded by the harsh cold and absent sunlight.   We also meet Officer Peter Prior (Finn Bennett) and his father, Captain Hank Prior (John Hawkes), who harbors plenty of secrets.  How their relationship plays out is another grim study of familial dysfunction, though I wasn't as moved by it as I should've been.

Bonus points for the use of Mazzy Star's "Into Dust" in episode four. 

The main reason to stick it out through episode six is Reis.  She's just right.  Her background as a professional boxer lends cred to her tough portrayal.  Her work here is extremely heartfelt and genuine.  She really gels with Jodie.

Much of "Night Country" was shot in Iceland, and Lopez achieves the icy gloom and vivid atmosphere she sought.  She favors the ambiguous, which is fine, but her writing so often comes off as second rate and obvious.  And unclear, which isn't favorable for a detective story,  But by the final image you'll realize this never really was one.