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Released by: HBO
Released on: October 18, 2016
Directed by: Steve Zaillian, James Marsh
Cast: Riz Ahmed, John Turturro, Bill Camp, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jeannie Berlin, Payman Moaadi, Poorna Jagannathan, Sofia Black D'Elia, Afton Williamson, Ben Shenkman, Paul Sparks, Glenne Headly, Amara Karan
Year: 2016
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The Movie:
In NYC, young Pakistani-American Nasir “Naz†Khan (Riz Ahmed) sneaks out in his father's taxicab one night to attend a party. Unable to turn out the vehicle's lights, a young woman (Sofia Black D'Elia) climbs into the back and convinces him to transport her home. There, she gets him high on drugs and the two play a dangerous game with a knife and have sex. When Naz awakens later, he finds her stabbed to death but has no recollection of most of the night's events. Fleeing the scene, he's pulled over for a minor traffic incident but is taken into custody by police; in an unexpected twist, they're called to the scene of the murder, unaware of Naz's connection with the crime. While at the scene, a neighbor recognizes Naz, who is then hauled off to jail while detectives investigate.
Unable to afford a lawyer, Naz asks for legal representation but doesn't get it until lawyer John Stone (John Turturro) shows up. Stone is known for assuming his clients' guilt and plea-bargaining them into lesser judgments. At first he believes Nas is guilty but over time changes his mind. Meanwhile, a high-powered civil rights attorney (Glenne Headly) pursues the case, and Stone is let go. The new legal team also tries to bargain Naz into a lesser sentence, but Naz refuses, insisting that he's not guilty. Stone returns, and he and fellow attorney Chandra Kapoor (Amara Karan), along with the help of Detective Dennis Box (Bill Camp), work to discover who really committed the murder. Meanwhile, to survive prison, Naz is forced to assist a drug dealer (Michael Kenneth Williams) in various nefarious deals.
The Night Of aired on pay cable network HBO during the months of July and August 2016. It met with critical acclaim, and its viewership doubled between its first airdate on July 10 and its last on August 28. It was also a media sensation, storming social media as enthralled viewers shared their love with the masses. And the series certainly warranted much of that attention. It's gripping almost from the first frame, and it doesn't let up until the last. The performances are good across the board, with Turturro shining in particular. The primary plot concerning Naz's possible guilt and subsequent trial is superior to the subplot involving the state in which he finds himself in prison (which is also less realistic). And finally, there's a terrific sub-subplot that involved the murder victim's cat. This story provides something of a backbone for the rest of the series, an emotional foundation on which the larger story is built.
Unfortunately, the last episode pulls out a deus ex machina of sorts that undermines some of what comes before it, but overall, The Night Of is an engaging work, an easy ten hours of educational entertainment.
Video/Audio/Extras:
HBO has released The Night Of to Blu-ray courtesy of an MPEG-4 AVC encode in 1080p high definition and at a 1.78:1 aspect ratio approximating its release on pay cable. The limited series was clearly shot on hi-def digital video, with desaturated colors that tend mostly toward blue and gray. The image is extremely dark, intentionally so, in reflection of the series' title and themes. The result is that heads sometimes appear to swim in a sea of black. In that regard, this is a bluish version of David Fincher's Se7en. But here's the thing: Never does the often artificially darkened imagery lose detail. There's no crush, and even in the darker parts of the frame, there's a surprising amount of fine detail to be seen. Yet the series never loses its almost-filmlike appeal. The pores and wrinkles in people's skin, the texture of prison cell walls, the fibers of cloth-covered furniture, the individual hairs of an orange and white cat… Details pop where color doesn't, and without the presence of real film, there's no dirt and debris or scratches to mar the beauty of the image. Make no mistake about it: This is an attractive program, one that's virtually perfect. There are eight episodes, a couple of them longer than the others (with the first and last being the longest, and both of which are essentially feature length); HBO has wisely chosen to spread these episodes across three BD50s to lessen issues of compression, and there's no artifacting. Minor grain has been added for a more filmlike texture, but not so much that the program is awash in noise.
Viewers should not go into the series expecting a plethora of surround elements heightening the experience. There are occasions when those elements are solidly presented (the series is set in New York City, with all its hustle and bustle, after all), but overall, this is a program about the interaction of human lives. Characters communicate mostly through their dialogue rather than their actions, so music and intrusive sound effects are kept to a minimum. And never at any point are sound effects allowed to interfere with the vocals; in fact, you won't even need to keep your remote handy to raise or lower the sound as you have to on so many other releases; the sound mix is well modulated. HBO has opted for DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 for the primary English track and DTS 2.0 Digital Surround for the secondary Spanish dub. Naturally, the 5.1 track is superior, and for Spanish-speaking viewers who don't like dubs, there are also optional Spanish subtitles, in addition to optional subtitles in Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish. The optional English subtitles are for the deaf and hearing impaired.
There are no extras, not even a commentary on any individual episodes.
The Final Word:
The Night Of is smart, classy television, in some ways a throwback to the 'message' programs of the '70s and '80s, though with a modern edge. HBO's presentation is intentionally dark, but that adds to rather than subtracting from the experience. The image looks great, while the aural presentation is nicely presented. Unfortunately, there are no extras, which seems a shame for such an otherwise terrific product.
Christopher Workman is a freelance writer, film critic, and co-author (with Troy Howarth) of the Tome of Terror horror film review series. Horror Films of the 1930s is currently available, with Horror Films of the Silent Era: Book One (1895-1915) and Book Two (1916-1929) due out later this year.
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