REVIEW: “Defending Jacob” is a Twisted Ride from Start to Finish
What lengths would you go to protect your family? Guilty or not, how far would you go to ensure the ones you love never see a day behind bars? In AppleTV+’s new series, Defending Jacob, a family tries to protect their own while grappling with the reality the family member may have committed the crime.
Based on the novel by William Landay, Andy Barber (Chris Evans) Newton, Massachusetts’ assistant district attorney, his wife, Laurie (Michelle Dockery) and son Jacob (Jaeden Martel) are a seemingly normal middle-class American family. The parents have solid jobs, a smart son, and live in a nice house in a quaint small town. When Jacob’s classmate, Ben Rifken is found murdered, the Barber family’s life is turned upside down. With all of the evidence pointing to Jacob being the killer, Andy will stop at nothing to prove his son’s innocence. Secrets are soon revealed testing whether this once normal family is strong enough to withstand it all.
Defending Jacob does well to capture attention from the start; every time you think you have the story figured out another twist is thrown into the mix. Director Morten Tyldum weaves together all of the characters and their secrets, without losing focus on the overall story. The subplots move the story along rather than distracting and with this 8-episode series, there isn’t room for filler episodes. Instead you are glued to your seat by a story that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Evans leads the cast as Andy Barber and has no problem carrying this story. As he moves from the having-it-all assistant district attorney to protective father trying to keep it all together, Evans makes Andy a character you can’t help but feel for. Evans clearly gave his all bringing to life this character and it pays off.
Dockery does well against Evans and her character takes off towards the final episodes of the series. Her character rides the rollercoaster of emotion the most in the series and Dockery easily has her hands on wheel the whole time. Martell’s Jacob isn’t a likeable child, which is the point. Every disdainful glance and each monotone answer provided makes Jacob a character you do not want to root for. Martell tackles the disturbed adolescent well and prompts the audience to question every move and decision Jacob makes.
JK Simmons’ Billy Barber and Pablo Schreiber’s Neal Logiudice are the clear standouts amongst the secondary cast. Simmons and Evans have a number of scenes together that are extremely powerful. This father son pairing is spot on as Simmons and Evans play well off one another. Schreiber’s Neal may be the character you end up hating the most in the series, which is saying a lot when many of these characters are frustrating. If so, then he definitely did his job.
Fans of the book will recognize certain changes but, overall, the series stays true to the novel. Defending Jacob is a suspense thriller that will have you guessing until the very end. It’ll be a shame having to wait a week between episodes to find out what happens, but you are going to want to continue to tune in. AppleTV+s has a solid new offering on its hands with Defending Jacob.
Grade: A-