Defending Jacob Review

One of the things I find fascinating about acting is the surprise pairings of some performers and the roles that they are given.

The question in 2020 Apple TV miniseries Defending Jacob (based on the book of the same name by William Landay) asks the following question: What if Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) married Captain America (Chris Evans), had a baby, and that child was accused of killing his classmate?

Andy and Laurie Barber (Evans and Dockery) are living a quiet and contended life in suburban Massachusetts. Their teenage son, Jacob (Jaeden Martell) seems to be a young man who is on the road to becoming a mature and responsible adult. Then Jacob is named as the killer of one of the schoolmates and their world turns upside down.

I was hooked from the word go. This is a tense thriller that grips you by the throat and does not let go until the credits roll. Evans and Dockery are amazing as Andy and Laurie. They want to be supportive parents, but there are times when the evidence is overwhelming. Martell is an amazing young actor whose career is nothing but bright.

What has stayed with me was the final episode. Just when I thought that all of the loose ends were tied up, they opened again in a way that I did not see coming.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Defending Jacob is available for streaming on Apple TV.

Past Lives Movie Review

Life is full of choices: the ones we make and the ones that are made for us.

In the new film, Past Lives, Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) were childhood sweethearts on the verge of young love. Then Nora’s parents decided that their future was in America, not their native South Korea. Twenty years later, Hae Sung visits Nora and her American husband Arthur (John Magaro) in New York City. As they reminisce, questions of what might have been become unignorable.

This is a sweet and romantic love story that takes the genre and narrative in new directions. It would have been easy for screenwriter and director Celine Song to create a generic love triangle that has been seen time and again.

Instead, she takes the story question and goes to a place that is deep, real, and unexpected. As much as I was rooting for a potential future between Nora and Hae Sung, I was surprised by the ending and how unfinished it felt (in the best way possible).

Do I recommend it? Yes. In fact, I would not be surprised if it was listed among the best films of the year come December.

Past Lives is currently in theaters.