True Detective 4 Vs. Fargo 5: which is the best thriller of the winter?
The two criminal anthologies can be seen at the moment, one on Prime Video (with the Warner Pass), the other on Canal +. We make the match.
It’s in season! Big down jackets on the back with fur hoods, the winter thriller is making a comeback, currently on the small screen. On the one hand, the True Crime of Noah Hawley takes us to a spooky new corner of Minnesota. On the other, the cult anthology of Nick Pizzolatto (without Nic Pizzolatto, excluded) introduces us to a sordid massacre in the depths of Alaska. Two thrillers, two atmospheres, two very cool crime series to discover frozen, on Prime Video (with the Warner Pass) and on Canal +. SO True Detective, season 4 Or Fargo, season 5, which one to choose ? Let’s get ready to rumble!
BEST PLOT: True Detective, season 4
But what happened to the scientists at the Arctic base who were digging into the Permafrost to study micro-organisms buried for millennia? This pile of naked corpses sculpted by ice is particularly impressive. As the thaw takes its course and the bodies reveal their secrets, the investigation advances and attempts to unravel an almost mystical mystery. As in the finest hours of Rust Cohle and Martin Hart, this new season of True Det replays the clash between rationalism and superstitions, with the subtext of Native American culture and its beliefs. A rich storyline that really keeps you in suspense. That of Fargo, crazier, reveals (almost) all its twists after an episode and a half. There is less mystery, fewer questions.
BEST CASTING: Fargo, season 5
The two series feature female duos: on the one hand, Jodie Foster makes a perfect investigator pulling the wool over her head with Kali Reis. The other, Juno Temple confirms (if it were still needed) all the good things that have been thought of her since Kaboom. The tandem she forms with her implacable mother-in-law (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is absolutely delightful. Much better anthem to feminism than all barbie of the world, Fargo 5 shines with its gallery of crazy female characters, boosted by supporting male roles who make the difference, Jon Hamm in the lead, amazing as a horrible misogynistic, toxic and abusive sheriff.
BEST ATMOSPHERE: True Detective, season 4
So significant in past seasons, the icy atmosphere of Minnesota is ultimately not very present in Fargo 5. It is, on the other hand, sharp as glass in True Detective 4. Playing hard on the polar night, which never ends, it creates a permanent dark atmosphere. It’s cold, it’s dark and it affects bodies and heads.
BEST DIALOGUES: Fargo, season 5
This is undoubtedly the strong point of Fargo 5. The improbable exchanges between these crazy characters resemble an absolutely delicious killing game. Jennifer Jason Leigh is odious as can be and throws heaps of filth at everyone and especially at the macho people who have the bad idea of provoking her. But Jon Hamm is not to be outdone and delivers some biblical-hallucinatory shocks that will keep you from sleeping. In a more classic style, the two detectives of True Detective 4 pull each other up and send scuds at each other. Effective, but less impactful.
BEST ACHIEVEMENT: True Detective, season 4
If Noah Hawley does not lack style, we must salute the staging ofIssa Lopez. The Mexican filmmaker has completely taken over True Detective, from script to direction. By directing the 10 episodes herself, she was able to put her stamp on the already well-codified universe of Nic Pizzolatto. A real feat in itself. She knew how to make the most of her frozen setting, and the photo, both warm and frosty, adds something extra.
BEST ORIGINALITY: Fargo, season 5
Let’s be honest, True Detective 4 doesn’t really think outside the box. Without taking too many risks, the series unfolds its macabre thread with a sometimes wearing classicism. Conversely, Fargo 5 plays the sordid farce card, to send a strong message about the struggle of women. This wife fleeing a rotten marriage to the core, and a disgusting past, tells a rare story on the small screen, about the rebirth of a battered woman. It’s clever, funny and even touching, like a Dantesque first episode which never goes where we expect it.
BEST DECORS: True Detective, season 4
It fits the atmosphere. The Midwest of Fargo, we know well. On the other hand, we lose ourselves with delight in Ennis, a small mining village in Alaska where an age-old power struggle is playing out between the indigenous population and the whites who arrived to dig everything up, in defiance of local culture. Snow and glaciers as far as the eye can see (all of this was filmed in Iceland) give, paradoxically, a rather claustrophobic end-of-the-world perspective!
VERDICT
We didn’t come far from a draw, but True Detective 4 wins by a narrow margin, largely due to its larger budget and breathtaking decorum. Yes, Night Country is a classic frozen thriller, exciting to devour and which distills its mystery with extreme care. But in his offbeat style, Fargo 5 is all about raw pleasure, embracing its black comedy side, an improbable thriller full of surprises. So why deprive yourself ? Look at both!
