FX's "The Patient" is an odd, but ambitious piece of serialized fiction. It's a serial killer story told in ten half hours, which probably works if you're spacing out the installments, but feels repetitive and overlong if you're binge watching. The premise is strong, and the actors are good enough to keep your attention, but I couldn't help thinking that the whole thing probably would have been a lot more compelling if it were a nice, compact, two hour movie.
Steve Carrell plays Dr. Alan Strauss, a therapist who has been kidnapped by one of his patients, Sam (Domhnall Gleeson), who is secretly a serial killer. Sam has decided that he needs help, and the best way to get it is to make Alan live in his basement and be available for psychiatric consultations 24/7. While Alan does his best to placate Sam and figure out a way to escape, he also uses the time to grieve his recently departed wife Beth (Laura Niemi), and work out his issues with adult son Ezra (Andrew Leeds).
I appreciate that the series isn't too sensationalistic. The writers, Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, are the creators of "The Americans," and keep the character drama at the forefront. A lot of the time is spent with Sam and Alan in their therapy sessions, but we also follow them separately - Sam struggling to keep his impulses in check, and Alan trying to stay ahead of him. Alan eventually starts having his own imaginary therapy sessions with his own therapist, Charlie (David Alan Grier), and flashing back to episodes from his past.
The performances are very good, and there's always a wonderful uncertainty to the characters. Sam is clearly dangerous and unpredictable, but he's struggling to do the right thing, and often shows signs that he has the capacity to become a more mentally stable human being. His logic may be warped, and he makes bad decisions, but there's a salvageable person there. Domhnall Gleeson does a good job of making him simultaneously sympathetic and off-putting, someone who passes for an average oddball on the surface, but is hiding some serious problems underneath. Alan has reason to hope that he might be able to speed along the therapy successfully, but rightly fears for his life at every turn.
Steve Carrell is the main event here, giving one of the better performances I've seen from him. Viewers might be surprised at how much of the series is about Alan grappling with his own emotions and relationships. Some of Carell's earlier work could come across as unintentionally comedic, but that's never a problem here as Alan battles Sam's dark side. A significant subplot involves him looking back on his estrangement with his son, his mistakes as a parent, and his relationship with his Jewish faith. This is a man who was in the middle of a personal crisis before he was kidnapped, and that doesn't stop just because a serial killer decided to insert himself into Alan's life.
Despite what I think about the show's structure, it's well paced and the various twists and turns are deployed with skill. As you'd expect with a serial killer as a main character, there's some violence and upsetting situations. However, this is not a horror series, and the camera doesn't linger. The worst is usually kept offscreen. The ending is also pretty atypical for a thriller, and I appreciated that the show's creators were willing to take a significant creative risk.
If you have the patience and the inclination, there's plenty to like about "The Patient." I don't think that it achieved everything that it wanted to, but I hope that these more interesting, unusual character dramas keep getting made.
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