True Crime has become one of the hottest tickets on TV.
Whether a movie, docuseries, or scripted show, the lure of our darker side persists.
Dennis Lehane is a master of our darker side. As an author and filmmaker, his work looks into what drives people to darkness and how they come back from it.
Lehane’s work on the page and screen meld beautifully with Black Bird, an adaptation of In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene.
Jimmy Keene is a successful drug dealer living a lavish lifestyle. He came from humble beginnings, but Jimmy is anything but humble himself. His friends still watch his high school football tapes, and Jimmy relishes the lavish praise and attention he receives.
Larry Hall’s beginning was a little less stellar. He, too, came from humble beginnings, and whether it was his twin feeding off of him in the womb or life in general, Hall’s path led to murder.
Their lives collide when Jimmy gets caught and sent to a medium-security prison. He’s on the radar of the FBI because of his charm, which would benefit their needs — to infiltrate the prison holding Hall, getting valuable information that will ensure he’s behind bars for the rest of his life.
Egerton is tasked with playing Keene at his highest and his lowest. Jimmy enters prison with an air of importance and a huge chip on his shoulder. He downplays the difficulty of moving to maximum security prison and befriending Hall, but his cockiness, while short-lived in the joint, gets him where he needs to be.
Egerton offers an award-worthy performance as he navigates Jimmy’s developing awareness of how crime affects victims. He masters scenes of Jimmy’s enlightenment as the mission becomes more than a get-out-of-jail-free card.
As Jimmy grows closer to Hall, Egerton’s entire demeanor changes, leaving behind Jimmy’s strut for a softer, less confident stride. It’s fascinating to watch and easily some of his best work to date.
Walter Hauser affects a high-pitched voice to play Hall, who comes off as a forlorn loser, a role Hall played so well that even confessions couldn’t be held against him, earning him the title of a serial confessor by all levels of law enforcement.
I became a fan of Walter Hauser when he played a similarly down-on-his-luck character on Kingdom. He has an understanding of men floundering in their own skin that is heartbreakingly real and mesmerizing to watch.
Working on Hall’s case outside are a local sheriff investigating the murder of a young girl in his town and the FBI agent with the plan to send Jimmy on the delicate and dangerous mission.
Sherriff Brian Miller (Greg Kinnear) and Agent Lauren McCauley (Sepideh Moafi) come together as the only two law enforcement officers absolutely certain that Hall is not a serial confessor but a serial killer.
Their characters drive the effort inside the prison while trying to find hard evidence outside contrary to the prevailing opinion about Hall.
While some supporting roles don’t offer much for actors to bite into, Kinnear and Moafi benefit from the taut, well-executed scripts and get to sink their teeth into meaty material.
In one of his last roles before his death, Ray Liotta also gets juicy material as Jimmy’s father, “Big Jim” Keene, a decorated policeman with long-reaching ties from his time on the force.
Big Jim has many faults, but loving his isn’t one of them. They have a great love for one another, but that love also puts Jimmy at risk.
Once upon a time, Liotta would have been considered for the role of Jimmy, so it seems fitting that he was able to come around to the other side as Jimmy’s father.
Black Bird soars far higher than many similar shows with its six episodes because of Lehane’s firm grip and his talented directors, Michaël R. Roskam, Jim McKay, and Joe Chapelle.
Every scene in the purposefully-driven story uses the well-cast actors to their best advantage, and the series’ excellent pacing ensures a thrilling dive into Hall’s motivations and Jimmy’s shedding of his criminal skin.
If other scripted true crime series have trouble sticking the landing, that’s not the case here. Black Bird is a perfect blend of storytelling and actual events, with a formidable cast bringing it all together.
Black Bird premieres on Friday, April 8, on Apple TV+ with new episodes dropping weekly.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.