'Nocturne' Review: A Gripping And Haunting Mystery Series
Apple’s latest drama series ‘Nocturne’ aims to be the streamer’s next highly bingeable mystery. Fortunately, with a fully locked-in cast and a compelling mystery to boot, this series is yet another delicious dish for hungry subscribers.
‘Nocturne’ centers on a former Philly police detective named Jonah Lynn (Liev Schreiber) who has built a quiet life for himself outside of the city in the wake of the deaths of his wife and child, aimlessly spending his days building a treehouse and keeping to himself. However, his peaceful life is threatened when a serial killer he put away named Jurek Walter (Stephen Graham) threatens his family and he must do what is necessary to keep them safe as he attempts to find the killer’s last victim with the help of his FBI agent surrogate daughter Saga (Zazie Beetz).
Television shows centered around serial killers have become a dime a dozen these days, most resulting in middling to deeply underwhelming stories that fail to capitalize on any potential in their foundation. Fortunately, that is not the case for Apple’s latest, showrunners Rowan Joffé and John Hlavin crafting a story that is as fascinating as it is emotionally compelling. Their handle on tone is consistent and assured throughout the course of the series’ first seven episodes made available to press, never losing sight of its narrative focus or endless intrigue. It also helps that the series has been cast to absolute perfection.
Schreiber unsurprisingly makes for a terrific protagonist to follow, imbuing Jonah with a disenchanted, wounded, but deeply grounded presence, his years on the force and experience tracking Jurek’s trail making him a considerable asset for the investigation. It’s not a showy performance by any stretch, choosing to play the character in an understated manner that serves the role well, able to be the emotional bedrock of the series. His relationship with Saga is also a sizable emotional cornerstone of the series, Beetz and Schreiber able to make their father and daughter relationship feel lived-in, raw and authentic, coloring in the canvas of their shared history with just a look or short exchange. However, this series belongs to Graham who eats the show up and swallows it whole.
Graham, who recently delivered a heart-wrenching performance in the highly acclaimed Netflix series ‘Adolescence’, shifts gears substantially here, slipping into the cold, slippery skin of a deeply unsettling serial killer. His performance as Jurek is nothing short of sublime, making great use of his physicality and expressive eyes as he molds a killer that is sure to make the audience’s skin crawl. However, this isn’t a performance that veers too campy or self-indulgent, Graham treating the character like a walking, methodical powder keg that could explode at any moment when his carefully constructed plans start cracking at the seams. His scenes with Schreiber’s Jonah feel very akin to ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, Graham the Hannibal Lector to Schreiber’s weathered Clarice, the chess match between the two one of the series’ most valuable assets.
Also a standout is Rory Culkin who plays Karl, a young nurse assigned to Jurek’s care who slowly and reluctantly forms a relationship with him, the killer slithering his way into his mind as the dynamic between the two continues to evolve over the course of the first seven episodes. Culkin is especially emotionally compelling, elevating a character that could easily come across as two-dimensional to new heights as he portrays a man that may appear like a wounded sheep, but is actually a caged wolf clawing at the bars to break free. Their scenes together feel exceedingly playful and emotionally charged, lending the series one of its most compelling relationships.
The central mystery is also perfectly paced and consistently gripping over the course of its first seven episodes, the audience given intriguing and haunting breadcrumbs as the story slowly unveils its inner workings and narrative surprises. Keeping the serial killer behind bars is hardly a setback, his menace and insidious reach felt well beyond the walls of his cell as his terror continues to haunt the city and the series’ core characters. The only minor hurdle the show suffers from is fleshing out some of its supporting characters including Quinn (Poorna Jagannathan), the agent running the investigation into finding the missing child who feels more like a one-note caricature with very little nuance despite a solid performance from Jagannathan. The same can be said for Saga whose journey over the course of these episodes is compelling as she goes undercover in order to get closer to Jurek, but her character isn’t given much depth beneath the surface despite Beetz’s best efforts.
‘Nocturne’ hits the ground running in its first seven episodes, wasting very little time reeling the viewer in and keeping them on the edge of their seats with its engaging and thrilling central mystery. The storytelling coupled with the stellar performances and immersive, moody atmosphere make this latest offering from Apple one of their finest to date. Whether it’s able to bring it all together and lock its pieces into place smoothly and deftly remains to be seen, but considering how confident and assured the storytelling has been so far, it’s hard to imagine it doesn’t conclude with delightfully vicious bite.