Sunday night brings the finale to True Detective, the eight-episode HBO Canada yarn starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.
Simply put, the show is brilliant. It's a twist on a Sherlock Holmes-Dr. Watson murder mystery set in rural Louisiana, starting in 1995 and stretching to the modern day, as our two damaged anti-heroes try to capture an elusive serial killer.
McConaughey plays the enigmatic Rust Cohle, the brilliant Holmes-like character who's sharp as a tack and has about as much social skills as one, too. Harrelson has the tougher job playing Marty Hart, Cohle's partner. He's a well-liked good-ol-boy family man who can't keep it in his pants. He's only smart enough to know Cohle is way smarter than him, which makes him a good guy to work with for career advancement.
It's a bromance, in that both men wish they were a little more like the other but neither would ever admit it. They make a good team, despite the fact they hate the bad guys just slightly more than they despise each other.
It's quite likely McConaughey will pick up an Emmy award for best actor for his True Detective work to go with the Oscar he won last Sunday for Dallas Buyers Club. McConaughey's physical and emotional transformation on True Detective is riveting to watch.
The show kicks off with an excellent opening credits sequence, anchored by an edited version of Far From Any Road by The Handsome Family. The song sets the scene and perfectly creates the sense of foreboding that hangs over the entire series.
Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4zluA60hjs.
