A Jersey City-set 10-part miniseries, Seven Seconds is a powerful tension of a drama as a young teenage boy is left for dead following an early morning hit and run. The fact the driver is a white cop and the victim an African American teenager adds an intensity to the narrative.
As the Butler family rush to the hospital bedside, so the City’s small anti-drug squad under the leadership of Mike DiAngelo (David Lyons) cover up the accident. Not only is Jablonski (Beau Knapp) the newest member of the squad and about to become a dad for the first time – a white cop killing a black kid would be incendiary. In scenes reminiscent of The Shield, cover up after cover up follow to maintain Jablonski’s distance from the accident. Yet detective Joe ‘Fish’ Rinaldi (Michael Mosley) is suspicious – as is the Assistant D.A., KJ Harper (Clare-Hope Ashitey).
What unfolds is a deep psychological cat and mouse game with more than a measure of family drama as the parents of Brenton struggle to come to terms with what has happened. Faith is questioned as a determined Latrice (Regina King) demands answers – from Harper, Jablonski, God, herself, her immutable and deeply religious husband (Russell Hornsby). It’s Harper and Rinaldi who look to find those answers, even as they cope with their own demons.
Relationships both personal and professional crumble as truths are hidden, discovered, discarded, revealed. Seven Seconds is compelling in its telling with its deep sense of realism – even to the point of palling in energy around episodes six and seven as the case stalls. But then we head for the climax of the investigation.
Regina King and Clare-Hope Ashitey are magnificent in their respected, flawed roles – a mother so distressed she will go to the ends of the earth and Ashitey who is already there, finding solace in the bottom of a gin bottle. But they’re more than ably supported by a strong ensemble cast. It’s a complex narrative of twists and turns – and many of them in directions unexpected.
Created by Veena Sud and based on the Russian film Mayor by Yuriy Bykov
Rating: 79%
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