‘Defending Jacob’ on still another streaming source

As with many of the people I know, movies have proved to be an important part of my life. They’ve allowed me to spend thousands of hours sitting in the dark exploring the lives of imaginary characters.

And they've provided me with a legion of lines to quote in pretty much any situation that arises.

Some of the best quotes came from "The Godfather" trilogy.

Who hasn't uttered the line “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse” at least once? And one of my favorites, though I've never had to opportunity to use it (and at least not mean it literally), comes from the character of Clemenza (Richard S. Castellano): “Leave the gun.  Take the cannoli.”

One that I have used, time and again, was said by Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in “The Godfather: III": "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”

That quote came back to me the other day when I began watching the miniseries “Defending Jacob,” which is streaming on Apple TV+. Not that we need yet another means of streaming things to watch at home, but one of the benefits of my wife's buying a new iPad is that it earned us a year's subscription to Apple’s exclusive service.

Directed by Morton Tyldum, and created and adapted by Mark Bomback from William Landay's 2012 novel, “Defending Jacob” stars Chris (“Captain America”) Evans, Michelle Dockery and Jaeden Martell. The story involves Evans’ character, a prosecuting attorney, doing whatever he can to protect his middle-school student son (played by Martell) who has been accused of murder.

We’re five episodes in and I’m impressed with pretty much everything – the acting, the way the story is unfolding and the production design (as with many made-for-TV projects these days, the producers didn’t scrimp on the budget).

I’m not sure about some of the sequences, the slow reveal occurring in the process of a grand jury proceeding. But I’ll withhold final judgement until the series is over.

Until then, I’ll leave you with this “Godfather” quote, again said by Michael Corleone, one that every critic hopes that audiences accept in good faith: 

“I respect those who tell me the truth no matter how hard it is.”