Apparently, there is a massive controversy around the fourth season of True Detective. Original showrunner Nic Pizzolatto has horked up plenty of bile for the show. Meanwhile, reviewers have gushed endless praise for the show. Now everybody has Balkanized over a show that is undeserving of both the bile and praise.
In fairness, Night Country is a solidly engaging show with strong performances and a creepy story. However, it muddles its central mystery for too long and freezes out exactly who the protagonist is. It is nowhere near as bad as Pizzolatto says, and nowhere near as great as some reviews say.
The first season of True Detective is, admittedly, a high bar to meet. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson absolutely chew up the sepia-tinged nihilistic southern scenery. The second season was a complete turd. The third season with Mahershala Ali was an improvement.
The fourth season kicked Pizzolatto to the curb and replaced him with Mexican director Issa Lopez. This created a massive tonal shift in the series. Night Country is almost a reboot of True Detective. Lopez deleted all of Pizzolatto’s sepia filters from the database and replaced them with dark, icy blue. She also punts the dudes and fills the two lead roles with women. Hiring Lopez as showrunner was a daring choice. She brings a fresh perspective to the series, which it needed.
Speaking of choices, in the lead role is the mighty Jodie Foster, playing a gruff, intelligent, and promiscuous Chief of Police Liz Danvers. Foster is a huge star, but honestly, her acting career is uneven. She has as many clunkers as she does hits. The last show I saw her in was Hotel Artimis, which was a massive dud. I was a bit skeptical of this casting choice.
The supporting lead is professional boxer, Kali Reis, playing the fiercely loyal and headstrong Evangeline Navarro. When I saw a boxer was the other lead, my skepticism grew. I had visions of performer-cum-complainer Gina Carano, who is not only a terrible actress but also a terrible person as well.
Then I watched the show, and my skepticism drown in the icy waters of the Arctic.
Not only did Foster bring her A-game to Night Country, but Reis also demonstrated some serious acting skill. Both actresses breathe genuine pathos into their respective characters. Foster sells the gruffness well. Reis has more range than you would expect from a person who makes her living punching people. I specifically enjoyed watching the two of them circle around each other for most of the series, avoiding the ickiness from their past. They played this anxiety well. Reis has some knockout scenes with her boyfriend. Watching Reis and Foster’s performances is decidedly the high point of Night Country.
Another thing that hooked me the most was The Thing. And by that, I mean John Carpenter’s brilliant 1982 movie with Kurt Russel fighting an alien at an Antarctic outpost. Night Country has several, intentional homages to The Thing. The story centers around a bunch of researchers at a remote, arctic research stated who are frozen into a “corpse-sicle” which bears an obvious resemblance to the frozen, charred two-headed thing from The Thing. Sure, it is a cheap fan service, but whatever. I like fan service. The Thing is also one of the most perfect movies ever made. You know the production designers were absolutely geeking out on this.
Yet Night Country is far from perfect. The core mystery is confusing. I am still not entirely sure if there was a ghost, or monster, or … something. Maybe it was Childs out there on the ice. Maybe. The icky event that causes tension between Foster and Reis seems like an afterthought, once you finally find out what it is. And the corpse-sicle is scary and weird, but it disappears mid-way through, and we hear nothing of it again. The story is clunky and does not play its supernatural elements effectively. Some of the plot choices, such as researchers needing more pollution to get the results they want, are way too convenient.
Night Country is absolutely not worthy of the hate. Showrunner Lopez went a different direction than the previous three seasons, and that is a good thing. That is also the point of anthology shows. Each season can be a little different and experiment. Lopez’s ideas are fresh and creative.
However, it is also not fully worthy of all the gushing praise either. Some of Lopez’s ideas are not entirely baked.
Ultimately, Foster and Reis performances redeem Night Country. It also sets up True Detective to try some new stuff. Undeserving of the bile or praise, I am looking forward to what comes next.
