We have been living for a few years where “true crime” has become the fashionable genre, with dozens of alternatives and viral phenomena like “Monstrous”. And if there is a jewel that competes with the Apple platform, it is this one. ‘Black Bird’, titled in USA as ‘Locked up with the devil’.
Of all the monsters of today, few are more enigmatic than the one built for this series which draws inspiration from some real-life memories of prisoner James Keene himself and his novel ‘In with the Devil: a Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, A Dangerous Market’.
Based on real events
The good, if brief, much better. Or something like that said Baltasar Gracián, the golden age writer who remembered that it was better to spend your time with caution. ‘Locked Up With The Devil’ Are Only Six Episodes for a harrowing, self-contained story – albeit with a nuanced ending – that stands out above all for its dedicated performances.
On one side we have Taron Egerton, who just released the movie “Tetris” and has been blasting it for quite some time. about his performance as Elton John in “Rocketman”. An interpretation which, in fact, led him to meet the musician himself and to forge a lasting friendship with his idol. His work dates back to the magnificent British series ‘Lewis’.
On the other hand, we have Paul Walter Hauser playing the forgetful and elusive murderer – he was acquitted and convicted many years later. He also started in television – American, in this case -, working on ‘Reno 911!’, to soon make the jump to the cinema until rising in roles like the brutal ‘Richard Jewell’ by Clint Eastwood or even voicing one of the main characters in a story in “Calls”, another of the most amazing series on Apple TV+.
One of Ray Liotta’s last performances
But one of the biggest surprises of this miniseries is given by Ray Liotta in one of the last roles, who embodies the father of the protagonist sentenced to befriend a dangerous serial killer. Liotta discusses cognitive decline and the powerful influence it wields about a person who, above all else, does not want to disappoint the proud figure of his father, a forced-retired police officer. Liotta worked until his last days – for example, his posthumous work on ‘Cocaine Bear’ has just been released -: his death occurred during the filming of ‘Dangerous Waters’, a thriller filmed and written by John Barr.
As it stands, in all the lists, it has been elated as one of the strongest miniseries of recent years. It is not for less, the material has the wickers to stand out, with a brilliant realization, a very tense framework which is provided by the post rock group Mogwai and the hand of screenwriter and writer Dennis Lehane himself.
Watch “Locked Up With The Devil” on Apple TV+
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