Samuel L. Jackson in The Last Days of Ptolemy GrayPhoto: Apple TV+
Without detracting from such a triumphant filmography, we can say that there are two Samuel L. Jackson. One of them is a cold-blooded badass who, since Pulp Fiction, has delivered wit and justice in equal measure, as slick vigilante John Shaft and Marvel Cinematic Universe debater Nick Fury, to name two. Then there’s Jackson, as the elderly, vulnerable everyman, full of weakness and doubt, in creative projects like Black Snake Moan, The Sunset Limited and Django Unchained. What’s in the Apple TV+ miniseries The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray? We get both Jacksons.
Based on a 2010 novel by the prolific Walter Mosley (who created, co-wrote and executive produced the series along with Jackson), Ptolemy Gray blends multiple genres with style and humor to showcase his star’s range. We have a family drama, an experimental medical thriller, a murder mystery (the author of The Devil in a Blue Dress, after all), and a historical tragedy from the Jim Crow south, all rolled into one. And judging by the three episodes available to watch, the backstory is about six hours long.
Above all, Ptolemy Gray is a lovingly engraved portrait of a man dominated by memory dodging fragments of the past stuck in the present. Hair disheveled and unkempt, beard turned into a mass of gray, those big brown eyes bulging in panic, Ptolemy Jackson, 91, looks desperate at first, an elderly recluse practically buried under towers of books, newspapers and everyday items tucked away in his Los Angeles apartment . Living off cans of beans and watching TV news while the classic radio babbles, Ptolemy can’t help but reminisce about post-traumatic memories from 1930s Mississippi: a burning man screaming as he runs into a cornfield; the house is engulfed in flames; a man named Coydog (Damon Gupton) who insists that the young Ptolemy fulfill an unnamed promise. Apart from these guest ghosts, Ptolemy is forgotten.
The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray
B
B
The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray
STARRING
Samuel L. Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Cynthia Kay McWilliams, Walton Goggins
PREMIERES
March 11 on Apple TV+
FORMAT
One-hour drama mini-series; three episodes reviewed
Well, not quite. Ptolemy receives a visit from his kind great-nephew Reggie (Omar Miller), who is most like a guardian. (It’s impossible to write about this setup without adding a few spoilers, so be careful.) Reggie coaxes his confused, forgetful relative into going to the doctor and diner, and sets up an appointment for a radical new treatment that could help Ptolemy recover. his failing memory. However, before Reggie can take Ptolemy to counseling, he is killed from a passing car. Our hero learns of Reggie’s death in a beautifully timed sequence at the end of the first episode, when he attends a meeting at his great-niece’s (Marsha Stephanie Blake) house, and the reality of the event finally dawns on him.
By the second episode, Reggie’s place is taken by Robin (the excellent Dominic Fishback), the orphaned teenage daughter of Nishi’s friend. Robin is kicked out of Nishi’s house after the latter’s deceitful son, Hilly (DeRon Horton), tries to attack the girl. Robin moves in with Ptolemy, despite the filthy state of the apartment. Skeptical and short-tempered, Robin becomes both mother and great-granddaughter to the old man, cleaning his apartment and inviting him to a meeting scheduled by Reggie.
When Ptolemy finally agrees to the treatment offered by the quiet and overprotective Dr. Rubin (Walton Goggins, holding back the tantrum of his collaboration with Danny McBride), the plot moves forward. The exact nature of the serum that Rubin injects Ptolemy is never properly explained, but within a few hours he became convincing and clear, remembering details of the day and years past. Two more (painful) blows later, and Ptolemy shaves his beard, puts on his sleekest 70s suit, and decides to solve the mystery of Reggie’s murder.
Samuel L. Jackson, Dominic Fishback and Walton Goggins in The Last Days of Ptolemy GrayPhoto: Apple TV+
There’s a lot crammed into The Last Days — flashbacks to Ptolemy’s turbulent second marriage to the troubled Sencia (Cynthia Kay McWilliams), scathing comments about black Americans’ wariness of white doctors, the epigenetic trauma of racism — and yet the narrative can seem leisurely. It’s a slow burn as Mosley sets peace with Ptolemy and the allies and also scatters clues about the treasure that Koydog is stealing from the white sharecropper bosses. By the end of the third episode, you’re almost calling on the creative team to hit the gas pedal.
At the same time, it’s nice to see Jackson taking a break from the high metabolism MCU to disappear in wigs and latex as a decrepit Ptolemy, focus on Ptolemy on medication, and even take on a man in his prime. Jackson fans have plenty to feast on as he uses all of his tools: caustic wit, boyish irritability, swagger, heroic determination. All in all, this is Jackson’s richest and most layered performance since Tarantino’s underrated Hateful Eight.
For Mosley, this is also a reference project. In 2019, the writer very publicly walked out of Star Trek: Discovery due to the blatant racist language he used in the writer’s room, so it’s notable to see him in the driver’s seat, mining his own material. (Mosley’s favorite books Easy Rawlins are also being adapted for the new Amblin Television series.)
In truth, neither Mosley nor Jackson have anything to prove at this point in their careers, but they still dedicate themselves to hardcore black stories as popular entertainment, mixing tabloid devices and historical honesty about racism in America. Their memory works just fine, no wonder they need medication.