True Detective 2.5 OTHER LIVES
“I try and limit the people I can disappoint.” – Ray Velcoro
Two months have passed since the blistering shootout close of last week’s episode. The characters have all moved on, trying to reinvent themselves. Vince Vaughn has now sunk to where his character presumably was months, maybe even years before the show started. He’s nowt living in the suburbs in a small house and being driven to a bar he currently runs. Colin Farrell shaved off his Sampson mustache and now works for Vaughn as an enforcer. Taylor Kitsch is moving ahead with his charade engagement and McAdams is now smoking cigarettes and ditched the e-cigs.
The big revelation in this episode was family. It took five episodes for it to sink in, but the three detectives come from terrible places. Affliction parades over all of the main character’s souls . Whether it is Farrell’s drunk and racist cop father, or McAdams’ free loving, inner-self father or Kitsch’s drunk and tarting mother; all three of them escaped where they came from and tried to live their own lives, but always in the shadows of their former selves. And then it struck me during the formation of the secret investigation they got wrangled into. The only place these three belong are with each other. There is no other family for them in this world. They accept and understand each other’s plights, and speak fondly of one another. Acceptance is something that the three detectives desire the most, and with each other – that completely achieve that.
The big reveal this episode was that Vaughn gave Farrell the wrong information on the man who raped his ex-wife, in order to put Farrell in his pocket. Sometime between the fourth episode and the fifth, the actual rapist was caught unbeknownst to Farrell, until he was told mid episode. This sent Farrell into a path of self-righteous destruction, beating down Rick Springfield’s creepy doctor to get information about the sex parties, uncovering a blackmail scheme that shined a lot of light on the mysteries of the season. Something happened after Farrell got the information from Springfield, he lunged towards Springfield and the camera cut away to a new scene. What happens after the cut? Does Farrell beat him to death?
The episode finishes strong with Vaughn and his wife in bed, in a good place. They were open and honest with one another about who they are and what they want, and came to the realization that they love one another, regardless of how far Vaughn has fallen from grace and whatever his wife’s struggles were prior to their marriage. Farrell shows up, banging on Vaughn’s front door. Vaughn answers. Farrell can barely contain his rage of being strategically misled by Vaughn. He’s shaking, he’s grinding his teeth. Vaughn is at a standstill, unsure of what happened to Farrell and what his intentions are. The camera cuts back to Farrell. He’s stone cold. Not moving. In that moment, Farrell has made up his mind that he is going to kill Vaughn. Give Collin Farrell the Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award now. Same goes for writer/creator Nic Pizzolatto. He is a literary genius.
Podcasting Them Softly is proud to present a chat with feature film producer BILL GERBER. Bill has some huge credits under his belt — Clint Eastwood’s GRAN TORINO and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT are major feathers in his cap — and over the past 30 years he’s etched himself into the Hollywood landscape with a diverse background that includes work in the worlds of both film and music. Attracted to exciting material and excellent filmmakers, he spent time at the studio level working as an executive on both Oliver Stone’s JFK, Michael Mann’s HEAT, Clint Eastwood’s UNFORGIVEN and Curtis Hanson’s LA CONFIDENTIAL, before branching out as an independent producer with a first-look deal at Warner’s. Passionate, insightful, and beyond knowledgeable, we had a great time chatting with Bill, and we hope you enjoy!
Podcasting Them Softly 