Taron Egerton of Rocketman fame recently starred in the Apple TV+ miniseries Black Bird, based on the 2010 autobiographical novel In with the Devil: a Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene and Hillel Levin.
The show, premiering on Apple TV+ on July 8, focuses on the story of Jimmy Keene, a young footballer with a promising future, whose life goes down the drain when he is sentenced to prison for ten years for the illegal dealing of narcotics. Jimmy cuts a deal with an FBI friend to get a confession from Larry Hall, a serial killer with a record of eighteen kills, to get a reduced sentence.
The show stars Taron Egerton as Jimmy Keene, Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall, Sepideh Moafi as Lauren McCauley, Greg Kinnear as Brian Miller, and Ray Liotta as Big Jim. The show has gotten positive reviews for its engaging story, rich writing, and captivating performances by the actors.
The season finale of the crime drama streamed on August 5, bringing the series to an emotional end with a contrasting somber ending for Larry Hall and Keene’s story ending with his freedom and reunion with his father.
The scene opens with a terrifying dream sequence after which Egerton’s Jimmy wakes in a sweat, and Larry wonders aloud if his stories were to blame for Jimmy’s nightmares. The stories he refers to here are the confessions of his murders that Jimmy tactfully pulled out of him, but as Hall later explained, were only fictional stories and not a part of his past.
Jimmy one-ups Larry’s tactic and calls him a fraud murderer because his story had holes and how he couldn’t have killed those girls. Hall falls into his trap and urges Jimmy to come to the wood shop, where he will explain in heavy detail how he had committed those gruesome acts.
Jimmy’s desperation to get out of this prison only gets deeper as he receives glares from the other inmates, coupled with badmouthing and angry complaints about his snitching. The Chin, the mobster Jimmy has learned to keep his distance from, also threatens to kill Jimmy before he could ever taste the air outside of the prison.
Jimmy meets Larry at the promised spot, where Hall shows him a detailed map with 21 blackbirds carved at each of the locations where he enacted his crimes. The blackbirds mark the name of the show’s title, sending a chill down the viewers’ spines as Larry explains how he was very hurt and disgusted when Jimmy called him innocent of these murders.
Hauser’s Larry puts down Jimmy for calling him a liar because that would mean that his passion for all the murders was false when he had always taken his “hobby” seriously, and all his victims meant a great deal to him.
He confesses that he just wanted to be seen, to be known, to be remembered. This sends Jimmy’s rage sky-high, and he shouts at Larry to reveal the locations of the graves and confess.
Larry’s flippant attitude to his emotional outburst causes Jimmy to see red, but before he could do more than call Hall a monster and a killer, Hall attacks him, and guards come to escort them back to their cells. But the map containing the evidence that could be the key to Keene’s freedom had disappeared.
Jimmy is denied any means to reveal the truth and is at a loss on how he should convey the final proof of Larry’s crimes to the outside world. He realizes the map’s details are slipping from his mind, and as hopelessness consumes him, Keene uses his blood to draw whatever he can recollect on the walls of his cell.
But unbeknownst to Keene, his freedom was only a little further. When Lauren visits him, he draws the map on a table and recounts Hall’s vivid descriptions with details only a killer would know. Lauren assures him that this guarantees his deal is fulfilled, and he’ll be out of there soon.
He is released from prison, and his reunion with his father was a moment that brought tears to every viewer’s eyes as Ray Liotta’s Jim cried in joy at seeing his son free.
Meanwhile, Hall’s failed suicide attempt and his innocence appeal thrown out of court led to his sentence being extended to life. The show ends with the contrast between the two convicts highlighted in a moving shot of the real-life convicts side-by-side.
A moving finale with stunning performances, Black Bird ended on a high note, earning its place as one of 2022’s best series.
About Black Bird
Black Bird is an American miniseries developed by Dennis Lehane. The crime drama first premiered on Apple TV+ with weekly episodes in a six-part limited series. The show is based on the 2010 autobiography of James Keene.
As Jimmy Keene begins a 10-year prison sentence, he gets an incredible offer: If he can elicit a confession from the suspected killer, Larry Hall, he will gain his freedom. Completing his mission becomes a challenge of a lifetime.
The show stars Taron Egerton as Jimmy Keene, Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall, Sepideh Moafi as Lauren McCauley, Greg Kinnear as Brian Miller, and Ray Liotta as Big Jim.
Source: Indiewire
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