Edge of your seat intriguing, the HBO series The Night Of provides excellent drama for crime fans. Not exactly an original storyline giving it a “CSI” vibe, but the point of view makes it different and gripping. With acts of terrorism in the world and growing in America, suspicions have escalated. This mini-series takes you into the world of bias and bigotry as seen by one trapped in a vicious crime. It’s just a story after all, yet if it hadn’t been a Muslim caught up in the crime it may have not been as powerful.
Nasir “Naz” Kahn (Riz Ahmed) a Pakistani-American New York City college student aware that his nationality has negative vibe due to the recent terror activities in the United States, tries hard to become part of the in-crowd. Being asked by a popular African American student if he would like to attend a party in the city that evening, he thinks he’s finally got a shot at making some friends outside his regular circle. His best buddy Amir (Ariya Ghahramani) has some trepidation about the invite, but seems to be okay with attending and driving Naz to the party.
That night while waiting for Amir to show up, he gets a call from him that he can’t make it. But, Naz is determined to go to the hip party taking his father’s work taxi after he has turned in for the night. When he gets to the city several people try to hail him thinking it’s an on duty cab. After finally shrugging them off, Andrea (Sofia Black-D’Elia) a beautiful girl gets into his the taxi and asks him to take her to the beach.
The series follows that fateful night with Naz being charged with the murder of Andrea and everything spiraling down in front of him. With all the evidence pointing to him, he gets John Stone, (John Turturro) a struggling lawyer to defend him. So begins a long uphill struggle that shifts from good to bad and then worse.
The series gets very dark showing Naz in jail awaiting trial and changing to fit in with the rough inmates to survive. Writers Richard Price (screenplay Ransom) and Steven Zaillian (screenplay Schindler’s List) pen the screenplay based on the British TV series “Criminal Justice”, but take their story to another level. Bringing it into the 21st century America with the world under siege by terrorism, gives the series a different take on discrimination. With Naz being a descendant of Pakistani parents, doubts are cast on whether he will get a fair and unbiased trial or even survive his stay in prison if convicted.
Holding the series together and giving it life, the penetrating music and outstanding cinematography are a huge part of the production. Using a shadowy and somber tone, the dread filled soundtrack permeates the scenes. Making some parts urgent and others offering a feel of violence, a heavy shroud makes the programming captivating. Using close-ups of characters, victim and their surroundings shows the dank despair in which Naz gets caught up. His misery escalates after being interrogated and later while in the cold and hate provoking confines of the prison.
The acting by the whole cast is outstanding. Top performances include Riz Ahmed as the accused who shows doubt about the crime and fear for his life during pre-trial incarceration. His interesting arc takes the soft spoken Naz from one trying to cope with his peers to a caged person trying to survive.
As the determined lawyer John Stone, who has survived in the big city taking on cases of prostitution and petty crimes, John Turturro puts on an outstanding show. Trying to put up with a problematic skin disease, he adds a little comedy to the seriousness of the drama. He knows the odds of winning are nearly impossible, but he keeps his pride and sense of good investigative powers in the forefront of the defense.
Although there are many good acting performances, Michael Kenneth Williams as the crafty and powerful inmate Freddy Knight shows how dangerous a prison can be. Freddy controls the other prisoners with his ability to reach out in the community where they lived with threats of violence. He even has the guards protecting him and giving the inmate special favors, including sexual and drug related.
The Night Of has been rated TV MA and contains extreme violence, explicit sex, nudity, drug use and language. If you are squeamish and do not like a lot of blood, brutality and frontal nudity, you may want to avoid parts of the episodes. Be extremely cautious not to allow under 17-year-olds see the program including any immature teens.
FINAL ANALYSIS: An excellent series for crime programming fans. (A)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: John Turturro, Riz Ahmed, Michael Kenneth Williams, Ariya Ghahramani, Bill Camp, Jeannie Berlin, Poorna Jagannathan, Payman Maadi, Glenne Headly, Amara Karan, Sofia Black-D’Elia, JD Williams,
Written for HBO by: Richard Price and Steven Zaillian
TV Rating: MA for mature audiences (contains extreme violence, explicit sex, nudity, drug use and language)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Running Time: 524 minutes
Video Release Date: October 18, 2016
Original Film Release Date: June 24 to August 28, 2016
Language: English (can be changed to Latin Spanish)
Reviewed Format: DVD (also available in Blu-ray)
Audio: Stereo
Video: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Subtitles: English, Latin Spanish
Number of Discs: 3 Discs
Distributed by: HBO Home Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
