Murder is just the beginning in this deep exploration of New York's criminal justice system.
Note: This is a mostly spoiler-free advance review of the first episode of The Night Of. This episode is currently available to stream via HBO Go/HBO On Demand and will air on HBO on Sunday, July 10 at 9pm EST.
Had everything gone according to plan, The Night Of would have marked James Gandolfini's grand return to serialized drama on HBO, albeit in a very different form than The Sopranos. Sadly, Gandolfini's untimely death in 2013 prevented that from coming to pass, though at least the series pays tribute to the late actor in the form of an executive producer credit. And even though it's difficult not to wonder what might have been, The Night Of instantly proves to be a very engrossing and worthwhile addition to HBO's Sunday night lineup.
The Night Of is adapted from the 2008-09 British series Criminal Justice, with Richard Price and Steve Zaillian writing and Zaillian directing several installments of this eight-episode limited series. Comparisons have been drawn to another HBO juggernaut, The Wire, in the sense that both shows take a holistic approach to exploring crime in a particular American metropolis. For The Wire, it was the many interconnected systems that fuel crime, corruption and the drug trade in Baltimore. For The Night Of, the goal is to explore the many lives impacted by a high-profile murder case in Manhattan. Whether The Night Of will actually achieve the same sweeping scope and poetic grace of The Wire remains to be seen. This first episode introduces only a small handful of the show's large ensemble cast. But if nothing else, it plays like a very well-crafted, methodically paced episode of Law & Order.
Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler, Star Wars: Rogue One) stars as Nasir "Naz" Khan, a Pakistani-American college student who unwittingly unwittingly finds himself the lead suspect in the brutal murder of a woman named Andrea (Gossip Girl's Sofia Black D'Elia). The first episode is largely devoted to exploring the slow, increasingly tense build-up to that act and then the immediate aftermath. The question is never what's going to happen to Andrea, but why, how and whether Naz is truly the culprit. Is he simply a victim of horrifically bad luck or an incredible sociopath capable of playing the doe-eyed, ignorant victim? This episode also introduces two other major players. Detective Box (Boardwalk Empire's Bill Camp) is the lead investigator in charge of the murder case, while Jack Stone (John Turturro taking over Gandolfini's role) is a world-weary lawyer who finds himself compelled to represent Naz.
There's a strong sense of fatalism leading up to the inevitable murder of Andrea and Naz's descent from promising college student to murder suspect. Zaillian's camera frequently lingers on the many chance encounters Naz has over the course of his night. Random passersby and pedestrians become eyewitnesses in a crime that has yet to unfold. Security camera footage shows us how a case is being built against Naz even in the lead-up to the fateful murder. Zaillian wisely skips over the act itself, leaving plenty of ambiguity about what actually happened and whether Naz actually the murder. Once that hurdle is cleared, the episode fixates on the many overworked men and women working the NYPD night shift as they slowly come to terms with the crime and Naz's role in it.
The premiere's greatest strength is its almost Hitchcockian level of suspense. Again, that sense of fatalism is crucial in the build-up towards the tragic murder. Running at a good 80-minutes, "The Beach" allows viewers plenty of time to connect with Naz and follow his journey as what should be a rare, fun night on the town slowly veers out of control and towards its inevitable conclusion. As he makes one questionable decision after another, it's tough not to shout at the gullible Naz to turn around and drive home while he still has the chance. And that's not to say the tension deflates after the murder unfolds. Overworked, underpaid and fighting exhaustion, the police are slow to uncover the full scope of the crime before them. And much as the first half of the episode hints at the case building against Naz, the latter half showcases the broken chain of custody and the various mistakes that may wind up dooming that case in the end.
John Turturro as Jack Stone and Riz Ahmed as Nasir Khan
This all has the effect of encouraging audiences to root for both sides. We want Naz to slip through the cracks and evade arrest for a crime he clearly doesn't believe he committed. We want the police to make the connections and arrest their suspect before it's too late. There's a very evenhanded approach to the conflict. That, combined with the methodical pace and the heavy emphasis on fleshing out the main characters, helps set this show apart even when it doesn't necessarily stray far from the crime procedural mold. It should be interesting to follow the show over the course of these eight episode and see what ultimate statement Zaillian and Price are trying to make about the criminal justice system, if any at all.
The strong cast certainly helps in that regard. Ahmed makes for a solid leading man, even if early on the characterization is a little overly broad. The "nerdy tutor gets invited to a hot party by the jocks" angle seems more at home in an '80s teen comedy than a serious crime drama. But Ahmed succeeds in playing Naz as a very likable, naive young man who's clearly in over his head and terrified. And as Naz responds to the temptations of the city, there's just enough of a glimpse of the character's darker side to suggest that he could be responsible for the crime about to unfold. By the end, it's not clear if he's completely innocent, if he accidentally killed Andrea and doesn't remember or if he murdered her and is simply Keyser Soze-ing his way through the investigation.
Camp's similarly effective as Detective Box. There's a clear warmth and decency emanating from Box, a man who's clearly dealt with his fair share of crime scenes and isn't much fazed by them. Box does his best to serve as a comforting presence for the terrified Naz, yet it also becomes clear that Box isn't above manipulating his suspect. Box is all too happy to take advantage of a man who's too naive to know that the only four words out of his mouth should be, "I want a lawyer." Box is kindly yet pragmatic, with the promise of more complications to come as the case unfolds.
However, it's Turturro who basically steals the show when he makes his late entrance. As much as I would have loved to see Gandolfini bring this character to life, there's no doubt that Turturro was tailor-made for the part of this rumpled but ruthlessly intelligent lawyer. Turturro conveys a lot about his character in the way he dresses, how he carries himself and the way he can't seem to shake the image of the terrified, lonely Naz from his mind. With a minimum of exposition, viewers get the sense that Stone is a crusader who's been worn down by too many bad cases and sees something in Naz worth pursuing. Is it a chance to stick it to the man? To elevate his career? To prove a point about how the criminal justice system treats minorities? It's not clear, but it's easy to picture The Night Of becoming a Turturro-driven tour de force.
The Verdict
Whether The Night Of truly warrants its comparisons to The Wire remains to be seen, but this first episode offers a compelling look at the lead-up to and immediate aftermath of a terrible murder. The slow pace is an asset in this case, as it allows viewers plenty of time to connect with the main characters and generates a palpable sense of tension both before and after the crime.
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