Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series) Night (2005) User Reviews

Inviting targets

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 19 November 2016]

This particular SVU story is awash in name guest stars. Alfred Molina, Bradley Cooper, Rita Moreno and Angela Lansbury all have significant roles here.

The SVU catches a case of a rape and beating of immigrant women who are left with C notes stuffed in their mouths. The notes have the prints of lawyer Bradley Cooper, but our perpetrator is the very rich trust fund baby Alfred Molina who is a mama's boy and a liking for beating up women. Immigrant women are targets because they're worried about their citizenship status. They're reluctant to testify as Cooper rats them out to the INS.

This episode also involves a brutal attack on Casey Novak who was getting ready to prosecute Molina.

The story finishes on the short lived Law And Order Trial By Jury with the DA's own investigators taking over from SVU.

There's a most touching scene with a battered Diane Neal talking to one of the witnesses to give her courage to come forth. Highlight of the episode and one of Diane Neal's best moments in SVU.

Worth watching for that alone.

The darkest night

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 11 March 2021]

Like "Pure", "Night" was another 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit' episode on first watch to leave quite a mark on me on the creepiness factor. Angela Lansbury is a favourite of mine and Alfred Molina has always been well worth watching and more (even when the rest of the film/episode etc is not very good). It also struck me as a quite affecting episode, with an exceptionally well written Casey Novak in one of her most rootable appearances.

"Night" is one of those 'Special Victims Unit' episodes that gets better with each viewing, with more to appreciate each time and more to appreciate even more strongly. It has not lost its creepiness factor and is still emotionally powerful. Basically, everything that was so brilliant about "Night" on first viewing is present, and was in all my subsequent viewings, except got even better each time. Not showing any signs of staleness or tiredness. As someone with Aspergers, personally didn't have as big a problem with its portrayal of it. The behaviour of the character in question is certainly not a common trait, but the portrayal didn't come over as one-dimensional or over-generalised.

The episode is terrifically acted all round. The standout of the regular cast this time is Diane Neal, seeing her vulnerable side such as when in the hospital was truly heart-rending to see. Chilling Molina and regal but suitably icy Lansbury provide two of the best guest performances of the early seasons.

A few very memorable scenes here in "Night" too, all Novak related actually. They being her attack in one of the most brutal scenes of Season 6, her in the hospital (Neal has always made me cry in this scene, as does the scene in general) and her with one of the victims encouraging her to come forward. Some truly touching stuff here.

Script is tense, concise and beautifully balanced with no waffle. As usual there is a lot of dialogue to digest, and really provokes thought, disturbs and brings a lump to the throat. The story is suspenseful, quite dark in places and is suitably twisty. Was not expecting the identity of Novak's attacker. "Night" is well made, intimately photographed and slick with no signs of under-budget or anything. The music didn't sound melodramatic or too constant and the direction is accommodating while still having pulse.

In summation, outstanding. It continued on the short-lived 'Trial By Jury' in one of that show's better episodes. 10/10

Misleading portrayal of Asperger's Syndrome

[dpenzel · 1/10 · 30 March 2007]

In this episode, Alfred Molina's character bases his defense on having Asperger's Syndrome, a condition on the autistic spectrum. Its major features involve intense focus on narrow areas of interest and social awkwardness, but not criminal or assaultive behavior. People with this condition appear to lack empathy, but are no different in the level of their concern for others, only difficulty in showing it. Asperger's has received a fair amount of publicity in recent years, but there is no evidence that it causes anyone to commit violent crimes. In fact, "Aspies", as they sometimes call themselves, have a strong inclination to follow rules and obey the law. Aspies have no greater propensity to commit crimes than so-called neurotypicals. After this episode aired, major autism advocacy organizations protested to NBC, and continue to demand that it be withdrawn from syndication.