Chris Evans plays a father tortured in front of his child accused of murder in the Apple TV + miniseries "Defending Jacob" available this Friday, April 22.
What is it about ?
The son of a Massachusetts small town attorney is charged with murder. As he tries to clear his boy, the prosecutor uncovers some secrets that sow doubt. Cornered, what choice will he make between his duty to defend justice and his unconditional love for his son?Mini-series created by Mark bomback. From the novel by William Landay. 8 episodes seen on 8. Available on Apple TV + from April 24.
what does it look like ?
Who is it with?
Defending Jacob is worn by Chris Evans, who swaps here the tight-fitting superhero outfits that we know him from, from the Fantastic 4 to Captain America, against a suit and a well trimmed beard in order to embody a brilliant lawyer, good father of family, consumed by doubt and lies. His equally disturbed wife is interpreted by Michelle Dockery, Lady Mary Crawley of Downton Abbey, recently seen in the western Godless and the sexy thriller Good Behavior. In the Barber family, there is also the son, the accused, played by the young Jaeden Martell, crossed in the Ca and A costeaux tirés.
His lawyer is embodied by Cherry Jones, memorable President of 24 Hours Chrono. In the role of the hero's investigative colleague, we find Betty Gabriel, scary in Get Out; and in that of Chris Evans' father, JK Simmons, the star of Counterpart, revealed by the HBO Oz series, reviewed in The Closer in particular, and rediscovered thanks to the film by Damien Chazelle Whiplash. A particularly solid distribution in short.
Well worth a look ?
With Defending Jacob, an eight-episode mini-series completed, Apple TV +, one of the last born in the unforgiving world of platforms, proves once again that it should not be ashamed in the face of its competitors HBO, Netflix and Amazon. and that she has the means of her ambitions. A proposal of classic but neat appearance, which we owe to Anonymous Content, the production company behind many recent critical successes like True Detective, Mr Robot, 13 Reasons Why or The OA, and the scriptwriter Mark bomback, in a universe distant from The Planet of the Apes and Divergent, its most remarkable feats of arms.
Much more judicial than police, it convinces first by its heavy, heavy, even suffocating atmosphere in its most intense moments, by its overall sobriety too, which is reminiscent of Nordic thrillers and their many local variations . We think in particular of The Killing. She bravely refuses to give in to the temptation of multiple false leads and proves to be particularly adept at bringing her shocking revelations, without ever losing sight of what seems to be her main objective: to dissociate family relationships almost clinically when they are brought to test of the lie, of the popular revenge and especially of the doubt. A creeping, sinuous doubt, which gnaws at them as much as it gnaws at us as the noose tightens and the outcome, surprising, approaches. Is Jacob really innocent? The question is constantly asked.
Behind his midnight blue filter, Defending Jacob is very dark; behind its initial slowness, it captivates; and behind her apparent coldness, she upsets. Always right, Chris Evans impresses in this tortured role, which ultimately suits him perfectly, while Michelle Dockery confirms in what is certainly his most populated performance. Well-directed actors, an unmanageable staging, a breathless thriller and a poignant tale: Defending Jacob has everything to obsess you.