• About Us
  • Advertising on Awards Daily
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
Awardsdaily
  • Home
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Oscars Calendar 2024
  • Podcasts
  • Interviews
  • Follow us on Twitter
    • Awards Daily
    • Sasha Stone
    • Ryan Adams
    • Clarence Moye
    • Mark Johnson
  • All News
  • Home
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Oscars Calendar 2024
  • Podcasts
  • Interviews
  • Follow us on Twitter
    • Awards Daily
    • Sasha Stone
    • Ryan Adams
    • Clarence Moye
    • Mark Johnson
  • All News
No Result
View All Result
Awardsdaily
No Result
View All Result

‘The Alienist: Angel of Darkness’ Is a Sumptuous Nightmare

The Emmy-winning series returns with a creepy tale of missing children in 1897.

by Joey Moser
July 19, 2020
in ADTV, ADTV Feature, ADTV Main, Reviews
0
‘The Alienist: Angel of Darkness’ Is a Sumptuous Nightmare

(Photo: TNT)

The Alienist was a surprise hit back in 2018. Not only did it grab good ratings for TNT, but it also garnered six Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series. Caleb Carr’s sequel novel, The Angel of Darkness, was inevitably going to be adapted, and it’s an even better series than its predecessor. Set one year after the events of The Alienist, Angel of Darkness is more mature in its storytelling, and it rightfully places Dakota Fanning’s Sarah Howard at the center of the story.

There was a grandiose luridness to the first series adaptation. Set in 1896, The Alienist revolved around a series of grisly murders of young boy prostitutes. The themes of xenophobia and homophobia hung over the series and provided its own darkness in addition to the gorgeously dark cinematography and direction. With the characters more established now, Angel of Darkness can take a new mystery and focus more on the emotional threads between the characters. I will admit to being very pleasantly surprised to how deeply this sequel balances personal pain and rage while showing how there are always going to be people that will contest scientific research or new avenues into the human psyche.

(Photo: Kata Vermes/TNT)

Dakota Fanning’s Sarah Howard has opened her own detective agency, but she is disappointed that the only clients she gets are old dowagers who are convinced that their servants are pocketing their silver. Luke Evans’ John Moore has become engaged to Violet (Emily Barber), the goddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, even though he blushes every time he utters Sarah’s name. Daniel Brühl has returned as the title role as our intellectual hero, Dr. Laszlo Kreizler.

With the Spanish-American War just around the corner, babies are disappearing from their cribs and their carriages and being replaced by nightmarish dolls. The daughter of a Spanish diplomat vanishes, and Sarah is eager to take on the case soon after a woman was sent to the electric chair after being wrongfully convicted of murdering her own child. Women are perceived in many degrading ways at this time and the men are pathetically clinging to power as if giving a woman a seat at the table would be of great sacrifice. Not only do rich men bring their mistresses to a sinister Lying-In hospital, but Sarah is seen fighting for women’s suffrage in the opening episode, and Violet even represents a submissive, affluent domesticity. Women can only be toys or trophies to the men in 1897 New York, so Sarah’s intelligence and drive spooks them.

With the characters established so well in the first series, Angel of Darkness can allow this mystery to unfold with less clutter and more drive. When we find out who is the baby snatcher, there is a substantial portion left to the story and we can feast on the emotional arcs of these characters so much more. It’s not just a question of who or what but an exploration of why, and it’s a bold move to make us understand how and why someone can become so damaged and full of rage.

(Photo: Kata Vermes/TNT)

Fanning delivered a solid, ambitious performance in the first season, but this a different Sarah Howard. As a young woman who knows what she is intellectually capable of, she can give odious, condescending men the truth with an articulate monologue. It’s awesome to see Sarah taking such charge of her own life as she acknowledges her past and doesn’t know what she wants in her personal life in the future. Fanning and Evans have a charged chemistry event though both characters are holding back from revealing their true feelings.

Angel of Darkness is immaculate from top to bottom. The production design from Ruth Ammon (taking over from Mara LaPere-Schloop) is so detailed, and she adds another dangerous world in the form of Hudson Street. There is a costume engagement party in episode four that will make your eyes bug out. The costumes, from Rudy Mance, are delicious. We can see Sarah’s confidence growing through her clothes, and who doesn’t want to just stare at Luke Evans in a beautifully tailored suit?

Angel of Darkness is a dangerous, dark, macabre game of cat and mouse, but there’s more at stake here. I loved the first season, but this time around feels more confident and assured. Everything is beautiful but it shows us there’s darkness in all of us and we have the choice to react to it how we want to.

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness will air 2 episodes a week on TNT starting July 19.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • WhatsApp
  • Print
Tags: Dakota FanningDaniel BruhlEmmyLuke EvansThe Alienist: Angel of DarknessTNT
Joey Moser

Joey Moser

Joey is a writer currently living in Columbus, OH. He is a proud member of GALECA, Critics Choice, and HCA. He is a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic, and he has also appeared in Xtra Magazine. If you would like to talk to Joey about cheese, corgis, or Julianne Moore, follow him on Twitter or Instagram.

Related Posts

NYFF Review: Strange Way of Life

NYFF Review: Strange Way of Life

by Matt Dougherty
September 23, 2023
4

It’s hard not to get a little giddy when you read the names Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke, and Pedro Pascal...

‘Lift’ Is a Triumphant Tale At the Ballet

‘Lift’ Is a Triumphant Tale At the Ballet

by Joey Moser
September 23, 2023
0

We have an idea of what ballet "should look like." In films like Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, Robert Altman's The...

NYFF Review: All of Us Strangers

NYFF Review: All of Us Strangers

by Matt Dougherty
September 22, 2023
0

“It’s a very lonely sort of life,” Claire Foy’s youthful ghoul of a mother says to her son, who clearly...

‘Succession’ Leads the ADTV 2023 Cooler Awards

by Clarence Moye
September 20, 2023
2

The final season of HBO's Succession led AwardsDaily TV's 2023 Cooler Awards. Netflix's BEEF and FX's The Bear followed closely with three wins...

Revealing the 2023 Cooler Awards Winners!

Revealing the 2023 Cooler Awards Winners!

by Clarence Moye
September 18, 2023
5

The 2023 Emmy Awards may have postponed their ceremony due to the ongoing WGA / SAG strike, but the Cooler...

2024 Emmy Predictions: Five Series Most Likely To Survive Emmy’s Cruel Summer

2024 Emmy Predictions: Five Series Most Likely To Survive Emmy’s Cruel Summer

by Clarence Moye
September 15, 2023
1

I know. I know. It's way, way too early to start talking about the 2024 Emmy Awards. After all, thanks...

Next Post
alison wright snowpiercer

Alison Wright On Playing the Dutiful Ruth on TNT's 'Snowpiercer', the Power of Mr. Wilford

NYFF Review: The Boy and the Heron

NYFF Review: The Boy and the Heron

September 27, 2023
NYFF Review: Evil Does Not Exist

NYFF Review: Evil Does Not Exist

September 27, 2023
The Virgina Film Festival Confirms its 2023 Program

The Virgina Film Festival Confirms its 2023 Program

September 27, 2023
David Fincher’s The Killer is Revenge Served Immediately and Relentlessly

David Fincher’s Sublime The Killer to Screen at NYFF

by Sasha Stone
September 27, 2023
0

Indiewire reports that The Killer will be added to NYFF's slate, screening on October 14 at 7pm at the Paris...

Golden Globes New Categories Announces – Box Office and Comedy Special

Golden Globes New Categories Announces – Box Office and Comedy Special

by Sasha Stone
September 26, 2023
29

According to Variety, the Golden Globes will now present two new categories: The Golden Globe Awards will introduce two new...

Trailer: Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman Star in May December

Trailer: Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman Star in May December

by Sasha Stone
September 26, 2023
8

Netflix once again has their hands full with Oscar contenders. Here is the trailer May December - Natalie Portman is...

Killers of the Flower Moon on IMAX

Killers of the Flower Moon on IMAX

by Sasha Stone
September 25, 2023
13

The ongoing actors strike is preventing the publicity machine for Killers of the Flower Moon. Imagine having a movie coming...

2024 Oscar Predictions: Beware the Oscar Buzz Machine

2024 Oscar Predictions: Beware the Oscar Buzz Machine

by Sasha Stone
September 23, 2023
220

With the actors and writers still on strike, we pundits kind of have the room to ourselves. There are no...

Good As Gold: 2024 Oscar Predictions Post Venice, Telluride, and Toronto

Good As Gold: 2024 Oscar Predictions Post Venice, Telluride, and Toronto

by Mark Johnson
September 23, 2023
75

With the major Fall film festivals - Venice, Telluride, and Toronto - behind us, it's time to shift our focus...

AwardsDaily Crew

  • About Us
  • Sasha Stone
  • Editor Ryan Adams
  • Editor Clarence Moye
  • Editor Mark Johnson
  • Contact Us

ADTV Crew

  • ADTV Home
  • Megan McLachlan, Editor
  • Joey Moser, Editor
  • Clarence Moye, Editor
  • Jalal Haddad, Senior Contributor
  • Shadan Larki
  • Ben Morris
  • David Phillips
  • Advertising on Awards Daily
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Oscar Podcast
  • AwardsDailyTV

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Oscars Calendar 2024
  • Podcasts
  • Interviews
  • Follow us on Twitter
    • Awards Daily
    • Sasha Stone
    • Ryan Adams
    • Clarence Moye
    • Mark Johnson
  • All News

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In