I Am The Night, “Queen’s Gambit, Accepted”, Review!

1917, we get a b&w look at the high class world of a mansion, a boy (Nicholas Brown) playing at a piano, watched over by a man also in a suit.  He stands there not looking.  This is Rachmaninoff (Kristoff Konrad).  We overlook a mother worried about young George Hodel, the instructor says he plays without emotion.  Young George sees the looming black bull.  We are startled by Jay being beaten in his jail cell while Biles eats Chinese food.  Then, he is thrown into his cell with a bloody face.  Jay tries to say the killer is George Hodel.  He tries to go over the evidence and Biles goes into his cell.  There are smokes from fires across the city.  This is accurately reflects such an event, I went around Los Angeles during the 1992 riots to deliver food supplies to a church.  Fauna gets a call about the injury of Jimmy Lee.  Corinna gets a call from Fauna.  There is a smoke from a large fire and Terence stops by the house.  She wants a ride back to Nevada.  He refuses and she wants a ride to Pasadena.  Fauna decides to walk and Terence changes his mind.  Fauna hears the disruption in Terence’s car hiding in the trunk with a spot of light on her face.  Terence stops and is confronted by a neighbor who tells him he will get a ticket for parking on the street.  He lets Fauna out of the trunk and she kisses him. 

I AM THE NIGHT -- “Queen’s Gambit, Accepted” -- INDIA EASLEY-- Clay Enos/TNT. 

Fauna knocks on the door of Corinna’s house and she says that the city is going mad.  The Watts Riots has broken out.  Fauna asks for bus money and Corinna gets her a drink.  She admits she saw Temar.  Fauna says Temar forgives her.  She tries to get out of her seat and collapses.  Um, she should have been suspicious.  Prisoners from the riots are brought into the jail watched by Jay.  One of them remarks about what is happening on the streets with the police.  Fauna wakes up in a bed in a nightie and sees George Hodel there.  She dresses in her normal clothes and as George is polishing his shoe, he explains has brought her to his mansion.  He checks on her as a doctor.  Fauna says he invited her.  He replies as the window shows the smoke from burning fires.  Fauna admits she met Temar and Jay Singletary.  George’s side of the story is that Jay is after him and he sends money to Temar.  Fauna says she does not feel well and watches George leave from the hallway.  She finds an open door that leads to steps to a locked gate.  She heads out to a garden when George shows her his latest art piece. A painting of red and black.  He offers for Fauna to stay at his mansion as his guest.  George asks about Jimmy Lee and Fauna replies she hasn’t seen her in weeks.  There is a door bell ring.  It is Biles and George sends Fauna away.  George wants National Guard over and has a meeting with Dr. Berman.  

Fauna catches up with Biles as he is about to leave and tries to leave with him.  George sees them and escorts her back to her room.  Morning, Jay is wakened and questioned by Biles.  The detective says he saw Jay’s evidence.  Biles says that the granddaughter is at the mansion.  The other officer takes out a switchblade.  Jay says he has something.  He says the switchblade is the weapon that killed Janice Brewster.  The officer wipes away his prints and Jay takes up the knife to trade for his freedom.  Jay is taken to the parking lot in handcufffs.  Biles calls up a police car.  He hands her the handcuff key and tells Jay not to kill Hodel.  A trooper joins Jay in the back seat.  Fauna is trapped in her room, she sees a chessboard, and then the door opens.  A servant, Yuna (Mariko Wordell), informs her that dinner is ready.  Fauna enters slowly and sits across from George.  She refuses to eat, Fauna explains that she’s not feeling well, now that’s clever.  He toasts her and Fauna picks up the wine glass and then sets it down.  George offers to paint Fauna instead.  He has a gun at his side.  George leads Fauna down the steps, it looks like an operating room, he has paintings behind a curtain.  He offers her a nightie to wear.  She refuses and he slaps her.  She is on the floor and he puts on his coat.  She goes behind the curtain and sees pictures of his work.  Fauna asks about Jay while dressing.  He tells her to sit.  

I AM THE NIGHT -- “Queen’s Gambit, Accepted” -- JEFFERSON MAYS, INDIA EASLEY -- Clay Enos/TNT. 

The police car goes through the night streets filled with sirens.  Jay uses the key to unlock his cuffs.  A trooper says that a black man should go home.  Jay knocks him out and the other trooper and then chokes out the driver.  He takes an officer’s gun.  George paints and Fauna cries asking for a towel to wipe her face.  George takes out the gun.  The tension is thick.  Fauna says she went to Corinna’s Happening and questions George’s art.  She says Corinna is the artist.  She hits him the wrapped up towel, gun falls, Fauna takes up the gun.  She asks if she is his daughter.  He seems to be crying now.  Closeup to her eye, he sees the bull there, Fauna says she is Jimmy Lee’s daughter.   She says he’s boring.  Fauna runs off with the gun. If she leaves George just chastising him that still leaves him as a threat.  I like that Fauna stands up for herself and doesn’t need Jay to rescue her.  Jay has the gun looking at the house, Fauna goes over to hug him, he tells her to stay there and walks to the basement.  He sees the painting of George in the bull head.  Jay is raging slamming the paintings.  Fauna says he’s gone.  She calms him down and they leave the artwork with just the outline of Fauna painted.  They walk the night street and Fauna says Jay will find grace.  Troopers walk from the smoke and Jay says he will have to leave.  Fauna passes the police officers.  Morning, she appears with Terrence at Jimmy Lee’s hospital bed.  Jay reads a letter from Fauna by the beach.  Peter reads a story.  George walks with a cane and a limp.  Uma covers a read painting and there is the statue of the black bull.  Sunset, Jay is surfing, there is a Korean soldier, she thanks him for saving her.  The moody noir elements are heightened here which makes it beautiful.  We have more family photos with Fauna and her daughters.  

Five Cameras out of Five! 

#IAmTheNight, #QueensGambitAccepted, #IndiaEisley, #ChrisPine