"The Night Of" is a suave remake of the British mini-series "Criminal Justice" with Ben Whishaw, so you could find out his story back in 2008. Along with citizenship, history changed, perhaps, social accents. The protagonist in the American version is a Pakistani student Naz Khan (Riz Ahmed), born and raised in Queens. One night, fellow students, football players call him to a party, and a timid guy secretly takes his father's taxi. At the crossroads (which is no coincidence: road signs play a special role in this drama) an agitated stranger sits down to him - white, rich, beautiful and obviously tired of a happy life. Instead of a party, the guys go first to the beach and then to Manhattan. A random date will end with tequila, drugs and scratches on the back of the hero. Heroine lucky less: waking up, Naz will find her dead. In addition, maybe more. Because the frightened lover will run away and fall into the clutches of the judicial system.
The scene of the murder itself remains behind the scenes, there will be too much evidence against the Naz, and he himself will lose his memory at the most improper time. So even the spectator will doubt the innocence of the hero, but lawyer John Stone (John Turturro), a misman in a wrinkled overcoat and slippers who looks at police stations in search of clients, will be ready to fight for his freedom. His level is to protect transvestite prostitutes, so in the case of a Pakistani who killed a girl from high society, he sees an opportunity to become a new Kardashian. At the same time, the client’s guilt or innocence does not seem to bother him. The main thing - to furnish an experienced investigator Dennis Box (Bill Camp).
The producer of "The Night Of" is the late James Gandolfini, for whose sake HBO used to buy the British format. The idea of making a servant of the law of the gangster Tony Soprano seemed attractive to the channel. After the death of Gandolfini for the role for some time, grabbed Robert De Niro, but the temptation to act in foolish comedies was stronger.
As a result, the work went to Turturro. In addition, one glance at the eczema on the feet of John Stone is enough to understand why such big actors were hunting for this role. Before us is the new Henry Fonda from "12 Angry Men" - a hero of such magnitude that all his interactions with other characters automatically turn into a direct appeal to the nation. One can doubt whether he will save the timid lamb from the bloodthirsty Themis sacrifice (that if the Naz is the murderer?), But you can be sure that he, like Fonda, will be able to agree with the audience about ethical standards for the years ahead.
"The Night Of" is a very scary tale about darkness. In place of the main character can be everyone. The Anglo-Saxon legal system with its precedents leaves the victim no hope of a happy outcome. "The Night Of" is the case when the definition of "judicial drama" describes not a genre, but a leitmotif. This is a tragedy about evil rock. In addition, to make the spectator a fatalist, the whole film crew works in it at once.
The operator and illuminators fix how the world of a person loses sight together with freedom. The editor is experimenting with the rhythm so as to make the audience sit in endless humiliating lines along with Naz's parents. It seems the series very accurately conveys the tragic perception of time, peculiar to people in such trouble. In addition, his showrunner Steven Zaillian, who received an Oscar for the script for Schindler's List and nominated by the Academy for Gangs of New York, uses an eight-hour format to sum up his professional experience. Under his leadership, the actor Riz Ahmed gets so familiar with the image of the victim that the viewer will be surprised to find out in him the rapper Riz MC. In addition, let in "The Night Of" there is no urban terror of Scorsese films; the streets of New York in this series still remain evil. The lights of the night city resemble "Collateral" by Michael Mann - and automatically turn the viewer into an accomplice of the hero. Therefore, we go to the camera with him. Another showrunner - one of the authors of "The Wire" Richard Price - is responsible for ensuring that everything is honest and dirty, and directed by James Marsh, who shot not only "The Theory of Everything", but also the drama about the IRA fighter "Shadow Dancer" , understands perfectly well how much human and system confrontation can reach.
The obvious thought that in "The Night Of" the demon investigator and the angel lawyer are fighting for an innocent soul, seduces journalists to look for biblical analogies. In addition, here it is not long to agree and to the fact that the main character is in fact the Pakistani father, and the whole story is a parable about Job. However, this niche, it seems, has firmly taken the series "Better Call Saul", so you should look somewhere else. For example, "The Night Of" is a great reminder of the parable about the Gate of the Law from "The Trial" by Kafka - with the difference that here the hero is looking not for the entrance to the Themis temple, but for the exit.
Another important thing about "The Night Of" is that this series understands well the market in which it plays. American television is overloaded with criminal dramas, legal "Procedural drama", and pseudo-reality based on real high-profile crimes. "The Night Of" laughs a little at this excitement: the casual clerk takes the hero Turturro for screenwriter "Law & Order"; Naz cellmates are watching TV shows to better prepare for meetings. Joking, "The Night Of" decides to stay away from all known genres. This is a very confusing detective story, but, despite all the tension, it cannot be called an action story. This is a careful judicial drama, but the legal nuances here are not as important as sociology. "The Night Of", like so much of what HBO ("The Normal Heart", "The Newsroom") does, is journalism. Humanistic, liberal and not very well aware of how the system should actually work. But just knowing how should not.
Judging by the fact that the series about the growing alienation between the man and the law are increasingly coming out, HBO journalism is hitting the target again.