Limited Series (Six episodes)
Premiere Date: Monday, January 28, 2019 at 10/9c on TNT.
Reviewer Rating: 5 Stars
“Some stories you can’t tell…Some stories don’t want to be told; some stories will eat you alive.” – Peter Sullivan
The year was 1947. The country was riveted by the heinous and ostentatious murder of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short aka “the Black Dahlia.” The unsolved crime had many suspects, but there was one man who piqued the interests of investigators. Dr. George Hodel, Jr. had the medical training necessary to cut a body in half the way Short had been severed. There was more to Hodel yet it seemed as though evidence was either overlooked, ignored, and dismissed altogether.
Singletary in I AM THE NIGHT. Ep 101 Photo Credit: Clay Enos/TNT
In the new limited series, I Am the Night (previously titled One Day She’ll Darken), Jay Singletary (Chris Pine), a reporter whose career had been tainted and destroyed by the Hodel trial, now tries to supplement his income by taking salacious photos of starlets in Hollywood. A war veteran haunted by his past, Jay tries to push the ghosts down with booze and drugs. Pine gives an unbridled performance as a broken and tortured soul. Jay’s self-destructive nature and fragility of his psyche plays out in a variety of scenarios. He struggles with the idea of ending it all until he gets a phone call that will change his life.
I Am the Night is based on the true events of Fauna Hodel (India Eisley). She was raised in Sparks, Nevada by an African-American mother named Jimmy Lee (Golden Brooks). Believing she is of mixed race; the light-eyed, fair-skinned Fauna (who also went by the name of Pat) sat with the “colored” kids at school and on the bus. The tensions run high between Fauna and Jimmy Lee which comes to a head when secrets are discovered. Fauna finds her birth certificate and learns that Jimmy Lee is not her birth mother. After finding adoption records, Fauna reaches out to her relatives and is invited to Los Angeles. Fueled by a need for answers and a sense of belonging, Fauna heads to LA in the hopes of finding her biological mother and answers to her identity.
Eisley gives a powerful performance as the troubled teenager. Fauna felt like she didn’t belong to either the Black community, in which she was raised, or the White community, which shunned her for being mixed. Eisley portrays Fauna with such conviction and dedication, making the viewer feel the range of emotions – frustration, anger, guilt, and loneliness. As Fauna continues to try to find answers, dark truths come to light about her birth mother and the infamous family she belongs to.
The writing in I Am the Night is superb. Sam Sheridan provides the brilliant dialogue which is brought to vivid life by the outstanding actors. The casting of I Am the Night couldn’t be more spot on. And with Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman) at the helm, the series is visually engaging and captivating. The fact that she uses film versus digital to shoot the series creates a nuanced giving the aesthetic quality this period piece requires. The set design is meticulous and quirky in all the best ways. From the pay phone on the beach that Jay destroys, vintage cameras, and antique cars, every single aspect of recreating an era has been paid close attention to, transporting the audience back in time.
As the series progresses, so does the acting. I can’t say enough about how phenomenal the actors are. Brooks as Jimmy Lee is absolutely riveting. There is something so eloquent in the way she portrays Jimmy Lee’s anger and selfishness. Despite her alcohol-infused rants, you know Jimmy Lee cares for Fauna but you also know she’s hiding something. There is more to the story of how Jimmy Lee came to adopt Fauna than meeting a “rich White woman” in a casino bathroom.
Other outstanding performances are Yul Vazquez as the brutal LAPD Detective Billis. His turn as the vicious and corrupt cop is a far cry from the peaceful were-tiger Reverend he played on NBC’s Midnight, Texas. Leland Orser plays Peter Sullivan, editor of the Los Angeles Gazette and Jay’s boss. Orser is a fantastic character actor and plays Peter with such passion. Peter tries to help Jay but he can only do so much. And while we only get a brief glimpse of Connie Nielsen, who plays Corinna Hodel, in the first episode, throughout the series, you will see more of this troubled woman who, like Jay, is running from her past. But there isn’t any reprieve at the bottom of the chardonnay bottle.
I Am the Night is provocative, macabre, and addictive! I couldn’t stop watching. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart or those with weak stomachs. There is plenty of darkness and mystery surrounding the sensational Black Dahlia murder as well as one of the prime suspects, Dr. George Hodel, Jr. (Jefferson Mays). Again, the choice of actor for this role couldn’t have been more right. Mays embodies a sense of arrogance, pretentiousness, and entitlement that many White men of this era enjoyed. It didn’t help that he is a genius and celebrated physician. Mays gives a chilling and disturbing performance as the infamous doctor who seems to think he is above the law.
There is so much more to the story and Fauna is about to find out who she truly is – for better or worse – and will change her life forever. Tune in for all the mystery, drama, and intrigue of I Am the Night.
For more on the series:
Official Site: https://www.tntdrama.com/i-am-the-night
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IAmTheNightTNT/
Twitter: @IAmTheNightTNT
Instagram: @IAmTheNightTNT
Photos ©2019 TNT. All Rights Reserved.
Judy Manning
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