Black Bird premieres on Apple TV+ on July 8, 2022, with two episodes, followed by one new episode weekly each Friday.
What would you do to win your freedom? Apple TV+’s new limited series Black Bird poses this question while joining the recent batch of true-crime adaptations to hit streamers. Set in the ‘90s, Taron Egerton plays the charming Jimmy Keene, a recently convicted drug dealer who is offered a literal get-out-of-jail-free card but with a significant catch. Black Bird successfully turns a game of cat and mouse on its head and combines a psychological prison thriller with a detective story. Egerton shines as the prisoner who soon loses his cocky edge and leads an impressive ensemble — including the late Ray Liotta in one of his final roles — that should keep you riveted throughout the six episodes.
Ahead of watching Black Bird, I was unfamiliar with Jimmy Keene and the man he is tasked with befriending. Not knowing the conclusion of a TV show is hardly a rare phenomenon, but I was surprised I hadn’t previously come across this particular story or the book it is based on, In With the Devil. It meant that the further Jimmy walked down this dangerous path, the more my stomach twisted in knots. Even if you are aware of the particulars, the twists and turns as the story unfolds are well paced. Seeing crime author and TV writer Dennis Lehane’s name credited as “story developed by” is an early indicator that we are in good hands. The timeline of Jimmy’s unique situation crisscrosses with the original murder investigation, and this non-linear structure effectively weaves past and present together.
The premise is simple: Jimmy will walk free if he can elicit a confession regarding the whereabouts of at least one victim from suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser). He will have to transfer to the maximum-security facility specializing in the criminally insane, but his 10-year sentence will be commuted if (and only if) he is successful. It is a proposal that sounds made for TV, making it even more mind-blowing that deals like this happen in the real world. Larry has an impending appeal that could mean he walks, which throws a ticking clock into the mix, and immediately cranks up the tension.
“You want me to check into hell, cozy up to a f***ing demon, and ask him all casual, ‘Hey, so, where’d you bury 13 bodies?’ Not for all the f***ing money in the world,” says Jimmy when he finds out what they want him to do. Egerton’s laugh at this scenario sells the disbelief, but federal prosecutor Beaumont (Robert Wisdom) offers him something that no money can buy. The aforementioned cat and mouse game also extends to the prisoner and those dangling his freedom. Yes, a suspected serial killer targeting teenage girls might walk the streets again, yet the methods wielded to get results are also troubling.
Black Bird doesn’t go quite as deep into the ethics of this kind of proposition and the disposable nature of a prisoner like Jimmy as I would like, but it is certainly an eye-opening depiction of the juggling act. It also is an indictment of the questionable and sloppy actions in the original investigation that led to this last-ditch attempt to keep Larry behind bars.
What makes Jimmy special (beyond his chiseled good looks) is that everyone likes him and opens up to him. For this reason, the FBI has selected the prisoner, and the actor playing the role must possess this level of easy-going charm. Egerton rises to the occasion, presenting the image of someone who can talk his way out of anything (well, aside from his original sentence) – and it’s not just because of his impressive muscular physique. It is a tricky line to walk as he needs not to be too arrogant while being the best salesman in the world in arguing why a hotshot like him would talk to Larry.
It isn’t just a case of faking his way through disturbing conversations, as Egerton also needs to signal to us, the audience, when Jimmy is in over his head. The way the actor subtly shifts between neutrality, terror, and even looking impressed is a marvel. While it is unlikely Egerton will be remembered by the time awards season rolls around, it’s nonetheless an Emmy-worthy turn. Likewise, it is impossible to look away from Liotta as Jimmy’s father whenever he appears on the screen.
Big Jim is an ex-cop who has been through ups and downs, but he cannot hide the physical and mental toll his son’s incarceration has taken on him, no matter how hard he attempts to exhibit a steely edge. The combination of vulnerable and gruff is not an easy balance to strike, but Liotta expertly navigates this path. Black Bird is a reminder of his prowess and the magnitude of this loss. Flashbacks featuring another actor as Big Jim cannot match the power of the two-handers between Liotta and Egerton, which say everything about this dynamic without needing the additional scenes.
The timeline also toggles between the present-day scenes and when Larry is first interrogated a few years earlier. Greg Kinnear plays the kind of detective you want investigating a murder, but he isn’t entirely infallible either. Detective Brian Miller is dogged, and while other local cops think Larry is nothing more than a “harmless” serial confessor and a creep, Brian can’t let go of his belief that Larry is the one. Black Bird doesn’t give simple answers at first, so when FBI Agent Lauren McCauley (Sepideh Moafi) begins to have doubts, so do we. Moments like this elevate the material and leave us with more questions regarding how law enforcement tackles cases that cross state lines. Lauren is also a direct tether to Jimmy as she recruits him and is one of his few contacts during this dangerous task — not that he can simply call her up to let her know if things get dicey.
The victims are all teenage girls and young women, and only Jessica Roach’s (Laney Stiebing) body has been found. Detective Miller might be the lead investigator on this horrifying murder, but his is not the only perspective given. Crime stories don’t tend to give much thought to the dead beyond their relevance to the case or the alleged perpetrator. Black Bird takes a different approach, which offers a haunting and unique perspective that eschews typical conventions.
Throwaway lines from other officers highlight how casual law enforcement is about the threat of sexual harassment and stalking. One notable example of this occurs early in Miller’s investigation when he follows up on a report that initially went nowhere. After two 14-year-old girls reported Larry for lewd comments, they are dismissed. “The girls struck me as a little dramatic. You know girls, man” is a rhetorical line reading that haunts me because of how little time this officer has for a complaint based on gender and age alone. It is another layer in this discussion about culpability and one that is often downplayed.
One person’s overreacting is another’s terrifying, and Hauser’s performance as Larry is outstanding because he elicits empathy and revulsion at various points in the story. The soft, high-pitched tones don’t instantly read as menacing, but as he discusses his “dreams,” the mood flips. Larry carries himself awkwardly, in opposition to Jimmy’s open and smugly self-assured demeanor. No doubt if it were a high school cafeteria, then star quarterback Jimmy wouldn’t give Larry a second glance, and yet everything here rides on a friendship forming between them — and at no point do we forget the high stakes of this operation.
From the jump, one creative choice doesn’t mesh with most of the six-episode run. Egerton’s voiceover at the start of the premiere is a quick way to set the scene, and the irreverent tone points to Jimmy’s devil-may-care attitude. But it also sounds like it is trying to be Goodfellas. It doesn’t help that, aside from one later episode (with a different narrator), this device is dropped entirely. However, don’t let this or the derivative opening credit sequence put you off, as Black Bird goes on to offer a unique true-crime adaptation with a cast that helps the material soar.
from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/oZuIpv5
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