This is a mostly spoiler-free review of the first three episodes of Defending Jacob. All three episodes are currently available to stream on Apple TV+.
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Ever since Chris Evans made his last heroic stand as Captain America in Avengers: Endgame, the Boston native has avoided the superhero spotlight by focusing his attention on smaller, less CGI-heavy projects like Knives Out. In Defending Jacob, a gripping legal drama based on the 2012 best-selling novel of the same name, Evans tackles fatherhood, in one of his most restrained (arguably best) performances to date. The limited Apple TV+ series is really, really slow-paced, but it still packs an emotional punch in its first three episodes, thanks to the engaging character work from the cast, slick directing from Oscar-nominee Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game) and unflinching scripts from showrunner Mark Bomback (War for the Planet of the Apes).
Evans plays Andy Barber, a small-town lawyer whose son, Jacob (IT’s Jaeden Martell), has been accused of murdering a fellow classmate. Tyldum doesn’t focus the camera on the violent aspects of the murder, but instead, hones in on the real horror throughout the first three episodes: watching the Barber family slowly unravel, as their closest friends and family begin to shun them. In light of the current global crisis, it’s difficult not to sympathize with the Barbers’ newfound isolation, where a simple trip to the store or a jog around the neighborhood takes an emotional toll.
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At its core, Defending Jacob is a dialogue-driven thriller similar to David Fincher’s 2007 Zodiac film. You’re not going to find any jump scares here, though the tension is often high due to Bomback’s relentless attention to detail when it comes to developing his characters. The episodes jump around in time, so you’re able to see the Barbers before, during, and after the murder takes place. Watching them at these various stages of life helps the viewer get a sense of how Jacob’s murder charges have affected them. At one point, we get a scene with Andy and Jacob sharing a meal while laughing about an inappropriate joke, then jump ahead a few weeks later where Andy is sitting in a courtroom begrudgingly answering questions about murder weapons. It’s a jarring and effective juxtaposition that prevents the audience from ever getting too comfortable.
After nearly a decade of watching Evans portray one of the most optimistic characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s a welcome change to see him in a different kind of role. Evans effectively portrays Andy’s grief throughout, and his chemistry with his on-screen wife Laurie (Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery) feels genuine. Due to the nature of Jacob’s charges, Andy and Laurie are advised to go to counseling, which is another example of how Bomback successfully puts the cast in situations where they’re forced to organically reveal things from their marriage (and past) that we didn’t know before.
While not as well known in Hollywood as his on-screen parents, Martell probably has the toughest role to play as the accused high-schooler. The young actor does a marvelous job of portraying Jacob as an ordinary teenager who likes to chill in his room and play video games online with friends. For a murder mystery character, he’s a tough one to figure out, and unless you’re Sherlock Holmes (or have read the novel), it isn’t obvious one way or the other if he’s guilty. The fact that this eight-episode miniseries is (likely) a one and done affair is reassuring since we’re going to get a conclusion at the end without having to wait for multiple seasons to find out what happens.
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The rest of the ensemble features plenty of recognizable actors like Halo’s Pablo Schreiber as Andy’s co-worker, and Timeless’ Sakina Jaffrey as Andy’s boss. Since Bomback spends so much time developing the Barbers’ narrative, there’s little time for other cast members to shine. Schreiber simply comes off as a one-dimensional jerk and Jaffrey doesn’t have much to do besides being the bearer of bad news for Andy. But even with the show’s secondary characters taking a back seat, the Barber family is more than capable of carrying the load. Between the magnetic main cast and Tyldum’s capable directing, rendering the world with an effectively eerie look thanks to its perpetual lack of sunshine, Defending Jacob works as a suspenseful crime drama worth getting lost in.
Source: IGN.com Defending Jacob Series Premiere Review