When Jimmy Keene, a high school football champion and the son of a decorated cop, is sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking, he is offered a life choice: enter a maximum security prison with insane criminals and befriend a series of suspects. Killer Larry Hall, or stay where he is and serve the full sentence without the possibility of parole.
Blackbird, created by Dennis Lehane with Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser, Greg Kinnear, Sepide Moaf and Ray Liotta.
Especially known for his crime novels inspired by famous films such as Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River (2003) or Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island (2010), Dennis Lehane returns to the stage with his own series, Blackbird, adapted from the book with the devil Co-authored by James Keene and journalist Hillel Levin.
In it, Keane recounts how he was tasked with obtaining a confession from Larry Hall about the location of the bodies of several of his alleged victims. A story that hasintestines” Lehane, who tells us about it:
“The interesting thing is that from my background I no longer wanted to hear about the prison world or serial killers. But a friend made me read Jimmy Keene’s memoir because he “just” wanted my opinion.A reading that threw the author back into horror after he agreed to bring the story to the screen.
And in addition to the relationship between Jimmy, played by Taron Egerton, and Larry, played by Paul Walter Hauser, who already made a strong impression on us in Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell case, he also decided. Of greater importance is the detective who first suspected Larry, Brian Miller (Greg Keener), whose investigation is shown in flashbacks.
Greg Keener and Sepide Moaf at Blackbird.
Beyond the suspense of Larry’s confession that keeps viewers on their toes, the show also deals in a fundamental way with very relevant topics like toxic masculinity. What the translator of the killer did not notice when reading the script.
“While I know this is a show that partially exposes the horrors of toxic masculinity, I only discovered this theme while filming the show. I was so focused on Larry’s interpretation that I didn’t see the larger theme that is at the heart of our show.“, he admits.
And she, who lost 30 kilos for the role but did not want to meet the man she plays, added:I think this toxic masculinity actually reflects the insecurities of many men in society. They are people who have a hole in their heart that they fill not with love but with poor quality food.“
This is also the topic.It is found everywhere in our society today” which particularly interested Dennis Lehane in The Black Bird Story. “It’s scary how all these far-right and ultra-macho movements are proliferating in the US.
Paul Walter Hauser in Black Bird.
I really focused on understanding Jimmy Keene’s journey and how I could transform his journey so that we could go deep into all these themes of toxic masculinity. It was not easy to find the perfect articulation between these two men, Jimmy and Larry, to create a palpable thriller with a real background.“, he explains.
Another theme emerges from the series for Jimmy the translator: “that atonement“. “Can you really change your life after you’ve been all the way through hell? At what cost are you willing to change your existential course to have a better life?”, wonders the one who is trying out a new registry for this occasion.
“The story is completely unglamorous and unsexy, and I found it fascinating because I’ve never been a part of such a black world. It’s definitely the darkest role I’ve played.“, really tells us the actor of Kingsman and Rocketman, who does not deserve the role of Jimmy.
And Dennis Lehane explained that he really wanted to apply “The idea of transformation and revival“. “So the Jimmy at the beginning of our story is completely different from the one we meet at the end of the show. It’s Jimmy becoming a better person, but also losing something inside of him“, he concludes.
The first two episodes of Blackbird are available starting today on Apple TV+, with the remaining four coming next Friday, one per week.
Source: allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
