"The Patient" a psychological thriller featuring Steve Carrell in his dramatic role

The American series tells the story of a therapist kidnapped by a patient who recognizes himself as a serial killer and seeks to be cured in record time. A captivating story with an unexpected ending.

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Therapist Alan Strauss (Steve Carrell) is held prisoner by a patient, Sam Fortner (Dohmnall Gleeson), who is revealed to be a serial killer and has an unusual therapeutic demand: he wants to be “cured” in record time..

The series, of eight chapters, shows a Steve Carell in his dramatic facet, showing off in acting that definitively distances him from the iconic Michael Scott (that character from the early 2000s series The Office) and places him in a position of a versatile and reliable actor for both comedy and drama. His silences, his discursive pauses, but above all his looks that convey suffering and anguish perfectly, make this a great acting job.

It’s hard to get out of the pigeonhole but Steve Carell He achieved it based on good dramatic performances and in The patient is no exception.

He puts himself in the shoes of a psychiatrist who wakes up lying in a bed in an unknown basement, kidnapped by a patient who wants to stop being a serial killer but wants to achieve it in record time. He is chained to the ground and can only move a few meters. Despite practically the entire series occurring in the same location, the plot becomes agile and constantly gives advances and revelations of the characters. Little by little, not only the patient’s madness is discovered, but also the family miseries of the doctor’s past. alan strausswho is still grieving the recent loss of his wife.

The Patient | Official Trailer | Star+

To survive, Alan must calm Sam’s murderous instincts. but his patient refuses to address past family traumas. The psychiatrist fights desperately to stop his patient before he makes him an accessory to the murders and also deals with the fear of being the next victim himself.

These doubts that are generated in the therapist intertwine the professional’s psyche so much that throughout the last half of the series it is no longer clear who the real patient is or one begins to understand why both are both patient and therapist..

The series looks fast but it is convenient to do it in a calm atmosphere to enjoy the gestures and silences, in short, to rejoice in the performances of Steve Carrell and Dohmnall Gleeson in particular.

Director joe weisberg He returned to the scene after the successful success of The Americans (The Departed 2013-2019) with a psychological thriller that has a strong beginning and end.