We move rapidly across a vast desert, with the sound of drums pounding in the background. As the camera speeds across mile after mile of desolation, high pitched instruments join with the beating drums. It’s eerie and foreboding. This will not be an ordinary, slice-of-life tale. We come to a modest-looking home. As the daughter rushes to get ready for school, her mother fixes her hair. We see the mother clearly but the daughter’s face is hidden. The daughter’s actions and words convey anxiety. She says she just wants to be normal like everybody else. As she opens the door to leave, we see her face. She is white and her mother is black.
I Am The Night, the new six-part miniseries from TNT is based on the riveting true story of Fauna Hodel, a teenager growing up outside of Reno, Nevada, who is raised by a black mother. Fauna makes a shocking discovery about her true origins. Her life is turned upside down as she goes on a harrowing journey to find out her real identity.
Directors Patty Jenkins (Monster, Wonder Woman), Victoria Mahoney (Claws), and Carl Franklin (House of Cards) take us on a disturbing 1960s odyssey with Fauna as she makes her way from a small town in Nevada, through an impoverished Watts neighborhood, to the more affluent sections of Los Angeles. The rough neighborhoods are not the ones to fear in I Am The Night, it is the beautiful mansions that camouflage a nefarious world of sexual and violent degradation.
From the very first time we see her, India Eisley endows Fauna with a compelling mixture of bewilderment, vulnerability and tenacity. As she edges closer and closer to the truth of who she really is, we watch her grow from a restless teenager to a determined young woman prepared to battle the ominous forces she encounters.
If Fauna is the hero of our story, Jay Singletary is our anti-hero. Singletary, once a Korean War hero, is now a down on his luck reporter. He’s suffering from severe PTSD, which manifests itself through reckless, self-destructive behavior and remedied temporarily with drug cocktails and alcohol. Once a promising reporter, Jay’s involvement in an infamous murder case of the late 1940s destroyed his career and was the catalyst spiralling him out of control. Jay’s quest is not only to find the truth about the murder, but more importantly, to find redemption for his troubled soul. It’s refreshing to see Chris Pine, an actor known for his portrayals of clean-cut heroes, sink his teeth into such a flawed character. Pine’s infusion of humor into his portrayal also gives the audience a welcomed break from the gritty subject matter of the series.
The heart of I Am The Night is the relationship that develops between Fauna and Jay. Their need for each other starts from a place of short- term necessity but develops into something much deeper and long lasting.
I AM THE NIGHT Grabs Us With Hidden Horrors
Cinematography and editing play a pivotal role in I Am The Night. What we see in shadows and rapid cuts and unsettling surreal dream sequences lets our imaginations run much more wild than if the filmmakers had decided to show us every disturbing image. From the opening titles, a pair of a girl’s legs wearing Mary Jane shoes and bobby socks, a woman’s half torso covered in shadow, a pair of hands reaching out of the darkness. These images are troubling but draw us almost against are will into the mysteries that are slowly unfolding.
Fauna and Jay are surrounded by a strong ensemble of supporting actors. Golden Brooks as Fauna’s adoptive mother, Jimme Lee, is touching in her struggle to do what’s best for her daughter while fighting demons of lost dreams and a secretive past. Connie Nielsen is effective as an eccentric wealthy woman who spends her leisure time engaging in bizarre, avant-garde “performances”. Jefferson Mays is especially riveting as George Hodel whom Fauna is on a quest to find. While doing very little, Mays makes us feel uneasy while enticing us into his lair.
I Am The Night is an engaging thriller about murder, dark secrets and salvation. In this writer’s view, it’s a fascinating tale done justice in this noirish depiction of Los Angeles in a time gone by.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Directors: Patty Jenkins, Victoria Mahoney, Carl Franklin
Writers: Fauna Hodel, Sam Sheridan, Monica Beletsky
Producer: Wayne Carmona
Composer: David Lang
Cinematographers: Trevor Forrest, Matthew Jensen, Michael McDonough
Composer: David Lang
Editors: Dody Dorn, Mark Yoshikawa
Cast: Chris Pine, India Eisley, Jefferson Mays, Dylan Smith, Golden Brooks, Justin Cornwell, Connie Nielsen.
When:
Premiered on TNT on January 28, 2019. Future airings on TNT are as follows (all at 9:00 p.m. EST):
February 5, 2019
February 12, 2019
February 19, 2019
February 26, 2019
March 5, 2019
Photos courtesy of I AM THE NIGHT
About the Author:
Rachel Errington is a New York-based actor, producer and writer, originally from Los Angeles. She recently produced and performed in “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” a short film headed for the festival circuit. Rachel graduated from Northwestern with a degree in Theatre. Favorite roles include Beatrice from “A View from the Bridge,” and the title roles in “Medea” and “Miss Julie.” You can learn more about Rachel at www.rachelerrington.com.
