I Am the Night - General Discussion

[ohjoy]

Quote

Inspired by true events, I AM THE NIGHT tells the gripping story of Fauna Hodel (India Eisley), a teenage girl who is given away at birth, and grows up outside of Reno, Nevada. Fauna lives more-or-less comfortably with the mysteries of her origin, until one day she makes a discovery that leads her to question everything. As Fauna begins to investigate the secrets of her past, she meets a ruined reporter (Chris Pine), haunted by the case that undid him.

Together they follow a sinister trail that swirls ever closer to an infamous Los Angeles gynecologist, Dr. George Hodel (Jefferson Mays), a man involved in some of Hollywood’s darkest debauchery, and possibly, its most infamous unsolved crime.

This series is scheduled to premiere on January 28, 2019, at 9PM EST on TNT.

[Epeolatrix]

This is a great site / tag if you're interested in the Fauna Hodel story. Larry Harnisch has been researching and writing about the Black Dahlia case for a long time, and he is one of the more reliable people to do so.

[GaT]

I am normally fascinated by anything to do with The Black Dahlia, but something about the trailer is putting me off of this. 

[Epeolatrix]

There's not nearly enough evidence of any kind to support the George Hodel allegation and I hate tragic mulatto stories. I will probably end up watching anyway so I can complain about specifics instead of just the stuff I see in the trailer.

[maggiegil]

Haven't seen the episode so I can't comment on it but did anyone else listen to the my favorite murder podcast about the Black Dahlia, it was sponsored by TNT and they interviewed the actor who plays George Hodel at the end. I've seen the actor in lots of things like SVU etc but I don't think I've ever heard him being interviewed and he speaks in such an affected manner like hes putting on an English accent but it turns out hes from Connecticut!

In case anyone else is interested, the interview starts at about 1:14:00

https://player.fm/series/my-favorite-murder-with-karen-kilgariff-and-georgia-hardstark-2084036/the-live-tnts-i-am-the-night-special

[tennisgurl]

I dont know much about the story this is based on, but I am already really interested in this. Not sure how much will be based on the actual story and how much will be fictionalized, but I am interested to see where it goes from here. I have always been grimly interested in the Black Dahlia case, I can see why people keep writing stories about it and coming back to it over and over. Since we still dont know who the killer was, we probably wont get any real answers, but we look to be into a pretty fascinating ride. 

I love Chris Pine, so I would probably check out anything he did, especially if Patty Jenkins is involved as well. Its got a very noire feelings to it, and an old school noire, not more neo noir or cyberpunk style noir that we get more of now. I love all of that too, but I am digging the aesthetic so far. Not much mystery yet, they are clearly still in the setting up stage. 

[biakbiak]

India looks like her mother Olivia Hussey who was Juliet in the 1968 movie Romeo and Juliet.

[Lamima]

I am watching. But keeping in mind this is a fictional production. 

[CeeBeeGee]

It's fictional--sort of? Fauna Hodel is a real person who apparently really was the real George Hodel's granddaughter.

I'm kind of nervous about reading too much about the real people so I don't spoil myself.

[shrewd.buddha]

This has been advertised non-stop, so I watched last night - and was surprised to find out it was the second episode. 
I am not sure that the slow burn aspect will keep me coming back. TNT seems to agree because of all the teaser scenes they are showing.
An example of the frustrating slowness: Pine's character begs for a story, sneaks into the morgue for photos, gets caught, beat up, but manages to keep a role of film. But all of that went nowhere in this episode - in fact, if left to his own devices, he would never have done anything with the photos.

It is weird that Chris Pine's character has the same personality as his James Kirk in the Star Trek movies?: hard drinking, hung-up on the past, sort of a loser, his face always looking as if he just walked away from a fight, then stumbles onto something big. 

The mom appeared to transform overnight from doting mother to non-stop alcoholic verbal abuser - - who apparently never planned to tell her daughter the reasons for her resentment. I would like to say I appreciated the acting, but the abusive, drunken, it-should-have-been-me mother type feels like it has been overdone lately. 

I will have to consider if this left me wanting more or not. The episode felt as if it faded off, not ending at any particularly interesting point. And, again, the previews did not appear to be for 'next week' - - it seemed to be  'scenes from sometime during the series'. 

Edited January 29, 2019 by shrewd.buddha

[walnutqueen]

10 hours ago, CeeBeeGee said:

It's fictional--sort of? Fauna Hodel is a real person who apparently really was the real George Hodel's granddaughter.

I'm kind of nervous about reading too much about the real people so I don't spoil myself.

Yes - I'm hoping for NO SPOILERS, and approaching this as a fictional crime story ("inspired by" the Black Dahlia case).

[benteen]

I enjoyed the first episode and will definitely keep watching.  I'm a sucker for stories set in Los Angeles from the 1940s-1960s.

[pezgirl7]

1 hour ago, shrewd.buddha said:

This has been advertised non-stop, so I watched last night - and was surprised to find out it was the second episode. 

They've only showed the first episode so far. They showed a sneak peek after the SAG awards, and then they showed it twice on Monday night.

I don't think it's a slow burn. I thought the episode moved quickly and I was bummed when it ended. I think we need to get to know the characters first before we delve into the mystery.

I thought the acting was really great and they did a good job with the period.

[Lizzing]

I liked it well enough to keep it on the record list for the second episode.  I didn't find it to be slow, but more clunky.  For example the scene where Pat/Fauna finds out her origin story from her mother: it was such an info dump it took me out of the scene, thinking, "what is up with this lecture-style exposition?", which a better crafted script should avoid.  I like Chris Pine well enough, but I'm kinda over the hackneyed character of the substance-abusing reporter haunted by demons of war and other sundry tragedies. It was damn near a cliche with Jake Barnes, so 90+ years on, it's super unoriginal.  However, I do love a good period piece set in LA and based on the MFM interview with Jefferson Mays, they filmed in the real Hodel house and I want to get my eyes on the inside of that place.

[peacheslatour]

On 1/28/2019 at 1:58 AM, biakbiak said:

India looks like her mother Olivia Hussey who was Juliet in the 1968 movie Romeo and Juliet.

Olivia Hussey was also Norma Bates in Psycho IV: The Beginning.

[atlantaloves]

I'm going to give it one more episode, there was a hell of a lot of over acting in the first episode.  But I love this case so much, I'll give it one more shot.  I adore Chris Pine too. 

[helenamonster]

I love the noir feel and am a sucker for anything 1960s LA (I sat through both seasons of Aquarius and will probably see Quentin Tarantino's next flick against my better judgement). Apparently Faunda Hodel is real but I too am avoiding looking for more info in the interest of avoiding spoilers.

I also really want to support Patty Jenkins. I think she's only directing the first two episodes but that means she gets to set a lot of the tone and style.

The one thing that's been sticking in my craw...they're gonna reveal Fauna is not actually biracial at some point, right? They dropped a lot of anvils about it in the first episode but the actress is not biracial so it's making me uncomfy. However

On 1/28/2019 at 4:58 AM, biakbiak said:

India looks like her mother Olivia Hussey who was Juliet in the 1968 movie Romeo and Juliet.

She is truly the spitting image. I really enjoy horror so I know Hussey best as final girl Jess in the original Black Christmas.

[atlantaloves]

Oh I loved Aquarius...that's my decade.....wish they renewed it.  We'll see how this one goes....I'm gonna give it every chance. 

[susannot]

My husband and I watched it.  He normally doesn't watch TV mysteries but he's a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan and he wanted to see the Sowren house (sp.?) which was the actual Hodel house.  The house is certainly creepy and fits right in to the noire feel of the show.  Agree about the over acting though.

Edited January 29, 2019 by susannot

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

The one thing that's been sticking in my craw...they're gonna reveal Fauna is not actually biracial at some point, right? They dropped a lot of anvils about it in the first episode but the actress is not biracial so it's making me uncomfy.

Yeah, I was feeling some type of way about the choice of actress myself, even before I found out about Fauna's true paternity. I'm still wondering what that hot combing scene was all about (complete with the sound of her hair sizzling from the heat). Maybe it was meant to be some kind of feint but IMO it was a bad one. Even if Fauna's adoptive mother doesn't know the full truth of Fauna's background, using a hot comb on someone's hair is not something that would be done unnecessarily except as some bizarre form of abuse.

In another--IMO--misstep by the writer(s), I was puzzled why a light-skinned Black girl would call a darker-skinned girl a coconut. That invective usually isn't/wasn't flung at Black people, but instead more commonly at people of Latino or South Asian descent. It didn't ring true to me and I think the show should've either left it out or explained why Fauna would use that term in that way. (Maybe producers couldn't get clearance to use "Oreo" since it's trademarked, or maybe that usage wasn't common yet in the early 1960s.)

I'm liking the production values and the clothes. Someone's done their homework, I think.

[hula-la]

On 2019-01-28 at 8:42 PM, CeeBeeGee said:

It's fictional--sort of? Fauna Hodel is a real person who apparently really was the real George Hodel's granddaughter.

I'm kind of nervous about reading too much about the real people so I don't spoil myself.

I read Fauna Hodel’s book, One Day She’ll Darken (a greatbook, BTW), and it focuses more on her growing up years. I put one note behind a spoiler, as I’ve always wanted to use it!

Spoiler

She’s not biracial, though she was led to believe she was. She’s white. 

I get the sense from clips that I’ve seen that there’s a lot in this series that’s not related to her book. I don’t know much about the case, but I’m interested to see where this goes. 

[Inquisitionist]

I decided to watch the first episode based on an interview with Patty Jenkins I heard on NPR a few days ago.  As I watched, I found myself thinking, "There's a reason this is on TBS/TNT and not HBO or even AMC."  Clunky is a good word, and even the acting didn't impress me that much.  This review in the NY Times captures the show's shortcomings well.

Quote

The result is a bland hodgepodge. Fauna Hodel’s tale of alienation and self-discovery is there in a condensed, movie-of-the-week iteration, with the details softened, perhaps to make her a more congenial heroine. Sharing equal space with it is the material that Sheridan, whose previous credits include two episodes of “SEAL Team,” appears to have been more excited by: an entirely invented, entirely synthetic Los Angeles-noir mystery plot, hashed together from bits of “L.A. Confidential,”“Chinatown” and “The Long Goodbye.”

I'll watch the next episode to see if it improves, but so far, I'm not impressed.

Edited January 31, 2019 by Inquisitionist
Typo

[gibasi]

Steve Hodel wrote The Black Dahlia Avenger.  I read it several years ago.  He was George Hodel's son and is convinced that Hodel was the murderer.  I don't remember Fauna from the book.  Interesting side note-Hodel was one of the detectives on the OJ Simpson case.  I believe he testified at the trial.  

George Hodel was a very strange guy.  I don't know that Steve Hodel convinced me that his father was the killer but I found his book interesting.  It is why I am watching this.

[7isBlue]

On 1/29/2019 at 2:34 PM, susannot said:

My husband and I watched it.  He normally doesn't watch TV mysteries but he's a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan and he wanted to see the Sowren house (sp.?) which was the actual Hodel house.  The house is certainly creepy and fits right in to the noire feel of the show.  Agree about the over acting though.

Snowden House was design by Lloyd Wright, Frank’s son and a celebrated architect in his own right. He designed one of my favorite places here (So Cal): Wayfarers Chapel

[JenMcSnark]

On 1/26/2019 at 7:17 PM, Violet Impulse said:

There's not nearly enough evidence of any kind to support the George Hodel allegation and I hate tragic mulatto stories. I will probably end up watching anyway so I can complain about specifics instead of just the stuff I see in the trailer.

I mean, it's not a trope when it's about a real person.  And actually, being the mother of a "mulatto", there is a lot of truth in the trope.  I'm only on the first episode, but I'm liking it enough so far.  

[Epeolatrix]

I am mixed, so I'm pretty well informed not only on how this trope can play out in real life, but also how TV leans hard on the melodramatic possibilities. And when you have a story sufficiently removed from truth that it's labeled "inspired by", anything can happen with regard to the characters. When I wrote my initial post, the trailer was what we had to go on, and it looked pretty cheesy to me. Now that I have seen the first episode, it's not as bad as I thought it would be, but we haven't gotten to the Dahlia stuff yet.

[WaltersHair]

I'm surprised so few seem to be watching this. I like the first episode, but Chris Pine doesn't quite pull off the 'total loser' character very well. Is he meant to be a the blond, blue-eyed guy who should have the world at his feet, but the poor girl at the center has to work double hard to succeed?

I may watch the rest, but I feel like any criticism I'd make would be too super charged because of the subject matter.

[MissL]

Well. I'm watching it. I'm just not sure what to say about it. Maybe everyone else is in the same boat?  It's interesting and yet nothing seems to be happening.  I'm very confused on why I like it even but I'm going to keep going.

I do have to say every time I see Chris' super short pants I start laughing. Is that the style or just another way to show he is a mess?

[Dowel Jones]

Even if the plot is a little slow, I just like to see the vintage autos.  Who keeps an old city bus warehoused for the movie industry?

[renatae]

On 1/29/2019 at 6:34 PM, Joimiaroxeu said:

I'm liking the production values and the clothes. Someone's done their homework, I think.

I'm having a bit of a problem with Fauna's clothes. The longer pleated dark plaid skirts and ankle socks they show her wearing were authentic, but were in style when she was in junior high, not in 1965 when this takes place. It really jerks me right out of the story when I see them.

One could say possibly that they couldn't afford to be stylish, but anything she had in junior high wouldn't have fit by the time she was graduating in 1965. The other girls are wearing the same styles. Nothing anybody is wearing (or driving) looks much like 1965 to me. Not to mention her hairstyles!

Otherwise, I'm enjoying the story and learning so much about Fauna and these aspects of the Dahlia case that I knew nothing about, except for Steven's assertion that his father did it.

Edited February 5, 2019 by renatae

[pasdetrois]

I read several true-crime books on the Black Dahlia a long time ago, but hadn't heard of the Hodel theory.

Although Chris Pine is doing a good job, I'm finding the series a bit disjointed and I'm already FFing. Love the portrayal of the time period - old cars and buses! clothes! - but the acting is all over the place. Southern accents that come and go (Jimmie Lee is from MS), scenery-chewing, and a stiff caricature of the 2nd Mrs. Hodel.

[Ms Lark]

On 1/28/2019 at 4:58 AM, biakbiak said:

India looks like her mother Olivia Hussey who was Juliet in the 1968 movie Romeo and Juliet.

Which explains why she looks vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place her. Gorgeous, like her mom.

8 hours ago, MissL said:

Well. I'm watching it. I'm just not sure what to say about it. Maybe everyone else is in the same boat?  It's interesting and yet nothing seems to be happening.  I'm very confused on why I like it even but I'm going to keep going.

Well put. I'm enjoying it, for the most part. Lots of eye candy and good production values. It is moving slowly, but I'm pretty sure I'll stick it out, it's only 6 episodes.

[benteen]

I started watching episode 2 yesterday and quickly lost interest.

[Lizzing]

The writing is still pretty bad for the second episode.  In the car ride to the lunch, Connie Nielsen's character just gives an info dump on George...musical genius, skilled doctor, art guy...it was like she was just reading off his Wikipedia page.  There was a similar clunkiness to Dale Dickey's character (and she's a goddamned national treasure and should have had better writing to work with) describing her trip to the convent to give up her baby.  The scripts are a whole lot of "tell, not show", which just gets basic storytelling assbackwards.

On a nitpicky level, Chapstick was invented far before 1965 and Pat/Fauna should have had some.

Does anyone know where that lunch took place/was filmed?  It looked like, in the circular drive up, like a cemetery.  Then it looked like a country club dining room attached to an art museum. Why someone would lunch at a private club/gallery/mausoleum with a young girl they just met is beyond me. 

[ratSenoL]

I've enjoyed Chris Pine in other things, especially Star Trek ... but his resemblance to his dad is distracting me here. Maybe it's that he (or the character) is finally the same age as the role Robert Pine was known for: Sgt Getraer in Chips (my mom was really into the show).

 

I'm not sure where the lunch was filmed, but it looks like the "museum" scenes were shot in a Beverly Hills mansion. AD has some details about some of the locations in the first two episodes: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/the-murder-and-mystery-built-into-the-lush-luxurious-sets-of-tnts-i-am-the-night. There might be mild spoilers if you've have't seen 1 and 2.  Mr. ratSenoL thought the drive up to the "museum" looked like a mausoleum in a cemetery.

[meep.meep]

10 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Even if the plot is a little slow, I just like to see the vintage autos.  Who keeps an old city bus warehoused for the movie industry?

Autos in California don't rust out.  Low humidity, no snow, no salt on roads, etc.  Keep it garaged and it will last.  Most of Nevada is the same.

[atlantaloves]

Well. that's it for me, the second episode was even worse than the first one. Damn it, I was really wanting to love this series. That script is garbage and everyone is over acting. Yuck.  

[shockermolar]

3 hours ago, ratSenoL said:

his resemblance to his dad is distracting me here

OMG so much yes! I leaned over to mr.shockermolar - who has zero interest in watching in the first place - and said, "DUDE he is straight up looking like his dad in this thing."

[Dowel Jones]

5 hours ago, ratSenoL said:

I'm not sure where the lunch was filmed, but it looks like the "museum" scenes were shot in a Beverly Hills mansion. AD has some details about some of the locations in the first two episodes:

From the article:

"To recreate the L.A. Times, where Jay goes to see an editor (their preferred meeting spot is a dimly lit bar, shot at the American Legion’s Hollywood Post 43),...."

Somehow, that seems just so appropriate.

Edited February 5, 2019 by Dowel Jones

[sainte-chapelle]

I am watching episode 2 and trying to stick it out, it is pretty awful so far. Very clunky.

[Straycat80]

Trying real hard to get into this. I’m so lost after watching the second episode, I’m going to re-watch it and see if everything clicks.  I want to find out who and why those two guys are following Fauna. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Why did Fauna have such a weird accent and where would she have gotten it from?

"Terrorist"? I don't think that word was in common conversational use in the 60s, and certainly not as a synonym for a naughty person.

What's the deal with Fauna's hair? They never show her combing or otherwise dealing with it,  and it never changes. Seems odd for a girl her age. (And I still don't get why they're trying to make it look like her hair is pressed. She might be using pomade on it though.)

[tennisgurl]

I am pretty confused by the actual plot of this story, and still find the script rather clunky, but the real life story is really fascinating, the actors are engaging, but mostly, I am in LOVE with the period details! The clothes! The cars! The architecture! Its so my aesthetic, that I would continue to watch this show even if it fully turns into suck. 

[Luckylyn]

I’m not hating it but some of the exposition has been clunky.   I’m intrigued enough to keep going.  The actors have been really great so far.

I was ridiculously happy to see Patty the Daytime Hooker from My Name is Earl appear in this episode.

[BigDfromLA]

I really like the show. One complaint...it is taking WAY too long for Fauna and the Chris Pine character to meet. That seems to be the point when things will really take off in the story, but they still haven't met after TWO full episodes? I am thinking that should have happened at the end of episode one, or very early in episode 2.

[Inquisitionist]

On 2/5/2019 at 1:14 PM, atlantaloves said:

Well. that's it for me, the second episode was even worse than the first one. Damn it, I was really wanting to love this series. That script is garbage and everyone is over acting. Yuck.  

I'm headed to the Exit door with you.  I was expecting something much better based on Patty Jenkins' interview on NPR.  She needs to hold her screen-writing husband to higher standards.

[Lady of nod]

On 1/29/2019 at 11:26 AM, pezgirl7 said:

They've only showed the first episode so far. They showed a sneak peek after the SAG awards, and then they showed it twice on Monday night.

I don't think it's a slow burn. I thought the episode moved quickly and I was bummed when it ended. I think we need to get to know the characters first before we delve into the mystery.

I thought the acting was really great and they did a good job with the period.

I just watched the first episode last night and was only half watching at first thinking it would be cheesy as in Dirty John. But it grabbed me pretty quick. I thought it was well done and am looking forward tonight to the second epi I recorded. And when I'm done after the next 2 I can listed to the MFM episode they recorded live at the premier.

[CharethCutestory]

On 2/7/2019 at 1:18 AM, BigDfromLA said:

I really like the show. One complaint...it is taking WAY too long for Fauna and the Chris Pine character to meet. That seems to be the point when things will really take off in the story, but they still haven't met after TWO full episodes? I am thinking that should have happened at the end of episode one, or very early in episode 2.

Yes! 100%. The first and second episode should've been consolidated into one premier and the final scene is Jay and Fauna meeting even if they weren't sure who the other one was yet, just a crossing of paths as they're on the same trail. I think a lot of scenes in the first two episodes were either unnecessary or went on for way too long.

The commercials that played AD NAUSEAM for this for MONTHS- seriously it was nonstop, I have never seen a show more heavily advertised- did make it seem interesting. I like the noir true crime vibe, Chris Pine is a great actor with the added bonus of being very easy on the eyes, India Eisley also seemed a good fit, so I was looking forward to watching. But the pacing, at least so far, is pretty bad. 

I think its a show that probably would've been better featured on a streaming service, released in full and binge watchable. Maybe then things would feel more fluid. For a show so leisurely paced the week long break between episodes further hinders any momentum. 

Edited February 10, 2019 by CharethCutestory

[Galadriel]

So far it’s not been good. 😳

Still hanging in, but barely.

Had high hopes for this series but man, the directing and writing is so very poor. There’s only so far that pretty cars and cool period sets can carry a show. 

[MissL]

Oh my god is anything ever going to happen on this show?

Why did the police pick up Jay? What has he even done?

Fauna agrees to get in the car with Chris Pine why? Because he's Chris Pine?

Fauna and Jay finally meet and they have a stupid non productive conversation for less than 5 minutes where they tell each other nothing. This episode was awful.

So of course I'm gonna keep watching