Shows That You Should Have Watched Yesterday - The Night Of (2016)

The Last Time I Ever Saw Your Face: Salvaging the American Dream from a City of Nightmares

          Year after year, there stands at least one piece of art that nobody perceived would be that good. If ever one needed proof that there was no formula for successfully achieving a guaranteed excess of critical acclaim, an everlasting sentimental impact, or a genuinely seamless and warmly welcomed element and of a didactic quality, all while remaining true to the primary artistic aim of entertainment through, in this instance, great storytelling, The Night Of (2016) would, without question, be pronounced guilty and be sentenced to join the ranks of fellow HBO dramas, such as the first season of True Detective (2014), or even films like Gladiator (2000), which all proved that surprises are still possible, even in the wake of an apparent overflow of movies and television shows from ostensibly all directions. It is nothing short of magic. Magic that, for better or worse, can never be re-created in quite the same way by a sequel or an additional season of episodes but nonetheless never fails to inspire possibilities for even more success on the passionate search for tasty original flavours on both the big and small screens.     

          A fairly tense yet defiantly beautiful occurrence of serendipity is followed all too quickly by a scarring turpitude that propels the protagonist into the deepest depths of desperation and despair, for both the superb leading character and the audience alike face a test of principally emotional endurance while they cannot figure out who to trust, or, worse still, who bears the ultimate reprehensibility for casting a shadow upon New York City, while other elements of the story simultaneously beam out light after light over both all too familiar and uncomfortably unexpected acts of prejudice and discrimination against minority groups in society. The Night Of plays out like magnificent, unspoiled river, consistently flowing confidently over and under various obstacles and around numerous turning points, each one at least as intriguing as the last, until it gracefully reaches the ocean, allowing the water to join that vast open azure-blue space, which lures the dazed mind into pondering over those questions that are not easily answered and, indeed, all but unanswerable, save for the discovery of who the clear heroes of that journey are in spite of their admirable modesty in the wake of such an enlightenment. The results, which include central character development underpinned by a shocking but arguably necessary corruption of innocence that is not dissimilar both within and without to the iconic transformations witnessed in Breaking Bad (2008-2013), as well as crime scene analysts and suspect interrogations that evidently grip and heighten only the best parts of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2015), will not soon be forgotten.      

          Navigating the unsettling midnight-black mazes running endlessly throughout The Night Of not infrequently brings one into contact around the numerous corners with the trials of the undeniably quintessential elements of the American Dream - the notion that anybody, no matter where they are born or what class they are initially stuck with, can achieve their own personal vision of success in a collective where ascending up the ostensibly blurred but ultimately bitterly entrenched social ladder is possible for all. Genuine concerns that have been hijacked by those seeking to gain something out of the suffering of others and then hide behind their long-established reputations, while the flames of collateral damage rage and spread mercilessly in the aftermath of such selfishness, threaten to permanently tarnish the lives of perfectly innocent, decent individuals.Thus, the American Dream for an unlucky and disturbingly ever-increasing few in modern society might be all but extinguished, were it not for at least a faint degree of luck in the form of blessed chance encounters with those oozing with genuine pleasantness and a heartfelt desire for his or her fellow citizen, particularly when that fellow citizen presents clear signs to warrant their indignation. All that remains is to fight on against the cancer of complacency. Let good drama never die. Let good hearts never cease to beat. And let good people never, ever give up. Fighting on, with the patience to withstand the overwhelming rage of being stuck in seemingly eternal traffic, well into the night.