Seven Seconds. 2018 Netflix

 

A compelling if somewhat familiar 10 hour urban thriller that focuses on the death of a young black boy. He’s  killed by accident while riding his bike in a rough hewed park on the outskirts of Jersey City. The accidental killing was caused by a young rookie cop (beautifully acted by the sad eye Beau Knapp) on his hurried way to visit his wife in the hospital as she gave birth, and this is the start of big errors and lousy cops.

The series hemorrhages from a long line of cop shows most notably “The Wire” and has all the usual suspects in tow. There are the bad and evil cops, common urban problems, family difficulties and fights, poverty, drug use, crimes in the streets, corruption behind political closed doors, intrigue and racism. However no matter how pat this show is, it’s  still way above most of the ones that came before it because of the strong writing and great acting. These two qualities go hand in hand and if they falter so do the shows.

The cast was somewhat familiar to me, a face here and there that I’ve seen before, but most were unknown and new to me. The performances were for the most part high octane and some were even staggering especially the young black actress Clare-Hope Ashitey (terrible name) who plays the young assistant prosecutor who takes the murder to trial. She’s flawed. Alcoholic  and distressed and not fitting the M.O. for this kind of character. She was raised in an affluent family with a big house and privileges and we get a glimpse of her background when she returns to her sprawling home for a birthday party that turns bad. She is promiscuous and a bad drunk lashing out at most and Ashitey’s   performance is touching and raw, one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Also great is Michael Mosley who plays an internal affairs detective who winds up working with her to bring justice to the bereaved family. Mosely nicknamed “Fish” is a gum chewing divorced dad with lots of attitude and lots of dogs living with him. As I said the characters are beautifully written and really give the familiar halls and closets a big bang for their buck. They are paper bags full of surprises. There are also some surprising sidebars including a gay one  and some shocks that are unexpected. Also (and this is a big also) in the cast is the great Regina King and she gives another wonderful performance as the young boy’s tormented mother and proves once again why she is one of our great actresses. Just her voice alone makes me swoon. Sadly there is only one season to this series, supposedly a second one was planned but was cancelled, a shame because there are some loose ends hanging at the end.