Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser are outstanding in Black Bird
I’ve just finished watching Apple TV+’s new prison drama Black Bird and was absolutely floored by the outstanding performances given by Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser.
Black Bird, set in the ’90s, follows James ‘Jimmy’ Keene (Egerton), a drug dealer who is sent to prison for 10 years despite him agreeing to a plea deal that involved five. He is soon approached by the FBI with a proposition – they will commute his sentence and set him free if he can illicit a confession from rapist, kidnapper and serial killer Larry Hall (Hauser). Keene reluctantly agrees and is transferred to a tougher prison in Springfield, Missouri, where he must gain Hall’s trust and literally find out where the bodies are buried.
Outside of the prison, the drama also follows FBI agent Lauren McCauley (Sepideh Moafi) and local police officer Brian Miller (Greg Kinnear) during their initial investigation of Hall and the years after when they continue to search for concrete proof of his crimes.
I’m a huge of Egerton anyway so you might think I’m biased here but I was blown away by his work in Black Bird. He is best known for his action films, the Sing animations and his portrayal of Elton John in Rocketman so Black Bird is very different to his usual stuff. This is serious, gritty and dramatic, which he has never truly done before, and it gives him the opportunity to show just what he’s capable of. It’s easily his best work so far.
He plays a different character from the outset as Jimmy is a ripped macho man from Chicago with swagger and buckets of charm (Egerton has used the charm before of course). Egerton is more muscular than ever and has a totally new accent. But he really levels up in episodes 5 and 6 when he earns Hall’s trust and hears details about his crimes. He has to act like he’s hearing the most casual, normal story in the world, but his eyes expose his real feelings and his calm and collected facade starts to crack.
The show really excels with the one-and-one conversations between Keene and Hall and they increasingly get darker and more explicit as they go along. What’s so remarkable with Hauser is that Hall doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong so he shares details of his crimes like it’s some innocuous gossip. To say those words with such nonchalance is staggering and super creepy.
I hope they both get awards nominations for their work because it really is impressive. Their co-star Ray Liotta, in his final TV role before his death, is also terrific as Keene’s father so I’d love for him to get recognised too.
Black Bird, based on Keene’s autobiographical novel, is obviously a tough, heavy watch. You have to be in the right mood for it, that’s for sure. But it’s a gripping series that I highly recommend.
All six episodes streaming now on Apple TV+