- Network: TNT
- Series Premiere Date: Jan 28, 2019
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Critic Reviews
- Critic score
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Jenkins’ direction allows space for Pine’s performance to muscle through any holes and shortcomings in “I Am the Night,” while Eisley’s grace and silence convey the threat of the Hodels’ menace. As it comes together, the final cut isn’t quite a bleeding-edge thriller so much as a visually sumptuous, slightly filthy noir attraction that doesn’t necessarily shed outrageous new light on a vintage mystery. But it succeeds in elevating the best in the talent resurrecting a piece of it.
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The writing can lay the nihilism on a bit thick. ... And yet there's no denying the spellblindingly ominous mood cast over six episodes. [21 Jan - 3 Feb 2019, p.12]
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The miniseries attempts to sew together true events with fictional characters and storylines to mixed success. ... Pine's dogged, self-destructive, and heart-breaking performance as Jay is what pulls the viewer from episode to episode.
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It takes a while to really get going, but once I Am The Night starts spilling its secrets, it doesn’t stop until the very end.
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The series' historical speculation is just dirty and plausible enough for the story. But the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short is beside the point: What the series does best is capture the sick fascination with grisly violence, making the audience complicit in the grotesque world it portrays.
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Night stumbles through some complex racial themes; to be blunt, it’s more comfortable with the rapey-murdery angle. But there’s sincere texture in the exploration of Fauna’s African-American family. ... Night isn’t great L.A. Noir--the plot moves at corpse speed--but it’s a vivid TV treat, filmed in real locations haunted by history that might just be too weird for basic cable.
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Night’s pacing can be frustrating — this mini would be a lot more effective if it were cut to four hours--but the surprises and twists in the final two episodes make it more than worthy of your investment.
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I Am the Night may be a little too formulaic to be TV’s next limited series with maximum impact--a la “Sharp Objects,” or what TNT really wants, another “True Detective”--but it’s well positioned to deliver the kind of entertainment that overly serious fare often overlooks.
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Pine’s lightness mitigates a lot of paint-by-number murk in the course of this miniseries--six episodes of louche noir, mildly feverish nonsense, and murder-mystery comfort food. ... Despite the absence of a badge, Singletary might be the truest detective on television. There’s a refreshing honesty to his trashiness.
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In some ways, I Am the Night is too much--and not enough--of a good thing.
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Good performances, strong start, but the pulp and cliches eventually take over.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 12 out of 31
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Mixed: 15 out of 31
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Negative: 4 out of 31
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Feb 19, 2019
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Feb 15, 2019Chris Pine should fire his agent for putting him into such a mediocre role. It's just banal network TV -- all cliches and false emotion.
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Apr 10, 2021