THE PATIENT IS NOT EPIC. Unlike several of the major shows arriving on TV of late-House of the Dragon, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power-it does not boast dizzying visual effects, take place in a fictional realm, or have any connections to a larger cinematic universe.
While they go big, The Patient remains appropriately, suspensefully intimate and contained. For long stretches, it functions as a two-hander with scenes that involve a pair of actors doing exceptional work opposite each other: Steve Carell as therapist Dr. Alan Strauss and Domhnall Gleeson as Sam, a patient with homicidal tendencies. Much of it is set in a single room, the spare finished basement of Sam's isolated home in the woods. Most of the ten episodes run 30 minutes or less; the first lasts a mere 20, which is precisely how much time is required to establish the show's central premise and conflict. It is, pardon the pun, all killer, no filler, but not in the ways you may imagine.
Sam is a serial murderer who kidnaps Alan, chains him up in said basement, and insists that Alan cure him of his desire to take the lives of people he deems offensive. Yes, we see Sam engage in some rather violent behavior, but The Patient is not a “murder show.” It doesn’t fixate on the grisly nature of Sam’s crimes or a police investigation into them or, refreshingly, any sexual compulsions that may be driving him. Creators Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, in the follow-up to their masterpiece The Americans, steer all the way around serial-killer tropes to create a limited series that offers surprising twists and thoughtful nuance in equal measure.
この記事は New York magazine の September 12 - 26, 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は New York magazine の September 12 - 26, 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Trapped in Time
A woman relives the same day in a stunning Danish novel.
Polyphonic City
A SOFT, SHIMMERING beauty permeates the images of Mumbai that open Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light. For all the nighttime bustle on display-the heave of people, the constant activity and chaos-Kapadia shoots with a flair for the illusory.
Lear at the Fountain of Youth
Kenneth Branagh's production is nipped, tucked, and facile.
A Belfast Lad Goes Home
After playing some iconic Americans, Anthony Boyle is a beloved IRA commander in a riveting new series about the Troubles.
The Pluck of the Irish
Artists from the Indiana-size island continue to dominate popular culture. Online, they've gained a rep as the \"good Europeans.\"
Houston's on Houston
The Corner Store is like an upscale chain for downtown scene-chasers.
A Brownstone That's Pink Inside
Artist Vivian Reiss's Murray Hill house of whimsy.
These Jeans Made Me Gay
The Citizens of Humanity Horseshoe pants complete my queer style.
Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes
Less than six months after her Gagosian sölu show, the artist JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLAND lost her gallery and all her money and was preparing for an exhibition with two the biggest living American artists.
WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
Deli Meat Is Rotten
