American Sports Story
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How do you begin to tell the story of Aaron Hernandez?
To many fans of the late New England Patriots tight end, theres a simple answer: You dont.
In 2020, Netflix dropped its own documentary, entitledKiller Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez.
Simpson trial an American crime story?
(The difference, maybe, is that Hernandez was still playing when everything went down.)
Setting aside that ontological question, does this particular story really call for a dramatization?
After one episode, that remains an open question.
That means we shouldnt come to this show with any real expectation of tastefulness or restraint.
But lets start at the beginning.
Hes worried theyre plainclothes cops who followed him to Florida while investigating something that happened in Boston.
(Spoiler alert for real life: It was a double homicide.)
The shot doesnt kill him, though.
(Ean Castellanos).
Already the football star of his high school, Aaron appears to have a bright future ahead of him.
He supposedly wants to keep D.J.
After all, Aaron is a guaranteed four-year starter at Connecticut.
Its the sensible choice.
Aarons overcompensation clearly stems from a struggle with his sexuality.
That core fear drives this TV version of Aaron Hernandez perhaps more than any one other motivator.
Theyre remembered forever.)
and the overdone foreshadowing of the dark path Aaron will eventually go down.
And every character seems set on telling Aaron about the man he can become and the man he mustnotbecome.
Is he prepared to graduate, either academically or socially?
Not really, no.
But Im also not sure the show has really justified its own existence yet.
Sometimes the best cure for exploitation is just better writing.
Dont play hard to get.
I am hard to get.
Aaron hallucinating his dad could get old pretty fast.
