SPOILER ALERT: The next piece accommodates plot particulars from the primary two episodes of “Smoke,” now streaming on Apple TV+.
Three years in the past, crime author Dennis Lehane and actor Taron Egerton teamed up for “Black Fowl,” an Apple TV+ collection that tailored the true story of undercover informant James Keene right into a disturbing-yet-tender tackle masculinity. “Black Fowl” was well-received, incomes critical praise and a trio of Emmy appearing nominations, together with a posthumous nod for Ray Liotta as Keene’s father. However whereas Egerton was glorious as a profession prison introduced face-to-face with the ugly excessive of his personal unquestioned machismo, the showier function went to Paul Walter Hauser, who performed a serial killer slowly goaded right into a confession and in the end took house the trophy for excellent supporting actor.
Egerton and Lehane have now reunited for “Smoke,” one other true crime present that explores prison psychology with an eerie ambiance and a star-studded solid. Because the title suggests, “Smoke” shifts Lehane’s focus to the world of arson, spinning a nine-episode yarn about an arson investigator (Egerton) and a police detective (Jurnee Smollett) who pair as much as catch a few firebugs within the Pacific Northwest. The fictional metropolis of Umberland, a type of Seattle surrogate with cutesy neighborhood names like “Trolleytown,” is performed by the true metropolis of Vancouver, a frequent filming hub whose lush forests are recast right here as harmful gas.
“Smoke” is intriguing sufficient all through the primary couple episodes. Egerton’s Dave Gudsen is a former firefighter and aspiring novelist, permitting Lehane to softly poke enjoyable at tropes (skinny feminine characters, clunky prose) rife in his chosen area. Smollett’s Michelle Calderon is a steely, targeted presence, if predictably saddled with each a fire-related trauma and an ill-advised affair together with her boss, police captain Steven Burke (Rafe Spall). But it surely’s a twist on the finish of the second episode that kicks “Smoke” into excessive gear and divulges what the present is admittedly as much as.
I’ve included a spoiler alert on the prime of this overview, and I’ll reiterate the identical sentiment right here. The reveal in query is extra of a delayed premise than a late-breaking rug pull, and with the primary two components of the nine-episode season freely accessible to stream, it’s technically honest sport to debate. (A cursory Google of the “Firebug” podcast already reveals the idea that clearly drew Lehane to the fabric.) The twist can also be a pleasant shock to expertise within the second, so I’ll permit readers to resolve for themselves simply how a lot they’d prefer to know getting into. Prepared? Proceed!
“Smoke” follows one of many two arsonists in Dave and Michelle’s sights from the beginning: Freddy (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine), a hen store fry cook dinner whose sluggish, halting speech and urge to set the houses of seemingly comfortable strangers on fireplace seem to stem from some type of psychological incapacity. (Freddy’s incendiary gadget of selection is a milk jug full of oil — not precisely refined stuff.) However whereas Freddy will get his personal storyline about an try to raised himself that goes disastrously awry, the opposite arsonist stays nameless past an odd proclivity for the potato chip aisle of varied grocery shops. Till, that’s, Dave will get in a disturbing argument along with his spouse and stepson. He leaves the home, and “Smoke” follows him right into a grocery store, feigning a limp and overlaying himself with a hood and sun shades.
This improvement turns “Smoke” into an exciting cat-and-mouse sport, one which doesn’t insult Michelle’s intelligence by retaining her at midnight for much longer than the viewers. “Smoke” replicates in miniature the horror felt by individuals like Dave’s boss Harvey (Greg Kinnear in full, resplendent Dad Mode), who initially understands him as a hero, then shortly strikes on to the satisfying work of entrapping him. Crucially, the early unveiling unlocks the complete depth of Egerton’s masterfully unnerving efficiency. The true model of Dave is equal components pitiful and menacing, seductive and unable to totally move himself as a standard individual. Egerton can simply venture confidence and affability, however as soon as Dave is totally unmasked, the function of “arson investigator who’s additionally an arsonist” proves simply as wealthy as Hauser’s nakedly misogynist id in “Black Fowl.” Mwine, too, is unbelievable; you are feeling for lonely, hapless Freddy at the same time as watching him makes you need to crawl out of your pores and skin.
“Smoke” has a humorousness that helps counter the creep issue. The more and more apparent awfulness of Dave’s e-book provides Smollett some nice response work amid all Michelle’s pained willpower. John Leguizamo doesn’t seem as Dave’s disgruntled ex-partner till midway via the season, however it’s definitely worth the await an unabashed slimeball who’s turned to producing pornography with out a badge to offer him goal. Much less ridiculous, however nonetheless welcome, is the late arrival of Anna “Amy from ‘Veep’” Chlumsky as one in all Michelle’s detective colleagues. With behind-the-scenes involvement from former HBO higher-ups, Kary Antholis (additionally the unique host of “Firebug”) and Richard Plepler, each govt producers, “Smoke” is a very open assertion of Apple’s intent to change into a brand new go-to premium outlet. Not solely is the solid packed to the gills; the theme track is carried out by none apart from Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, like Mick Jagger moonlighting because the voice of fellow Apple present “Sluggish Horses.”
With half as many episodes as “Black Fowl,” “Smoke” is probably unsurprisingly much less tight, and begins to spiral out into absurdity within the season’s house stretch. Freddy strays somewhat too near the stereotype of a mystic savant; Michelle makes some rash and drastic selections that beggar perception. Nonetheless, “Smoke” as a complete — and particularly as a automobile for Egerton — is deeply satisfying, a quick and clear burn that leaves little behind.
The primary two episodes of “Smoke” are actually streaming on Apple TV+, with the remaining episodes airing weekly on Fridays.
