In Treatment
I keep trying to find a way to write a prelim review of the first episode I've seen of HBO's In Treatment (a half-hour psychotherapy drama airing five nights a week for 9 weeks), but all I can seem to do is gush transfixedly about Gabriel Byrne, who plays Paul Weston, the therapist with problems of his own - his soft Irish accent, his reserved but unflinching gaze. Bryan Singer once described Bryne as having "all the right imperfections to make a face credibly beautiful". I'll tell you - that face does something to me.
But if he isn't enough, future episodes promise Melissa George, Embeth Davidtz, Michelle Forbes, Blair Underwood and Dianne Wiest. In these stricken times for television, who else are you going to watch?
Reviews @ Metacritic
Edit: Mary McNamara sums up my feelings in her review:
'I stayed up past midnight, grew hollow-eyed and pale, missed meals and refused to answer my cellphone or check my e-mail just so I could squeeze in another episode. It wasn't pretty, but it sure was fun.
'Part of this you can chalk up to a lifelong pash for Byrne, who is at the top of his fretful haunted game, portraying a man truly devoted to his clients and his science and yet depressed, repressed, narcissistic and occasionally downright whiny. Having now officially turned the noncommittal murmur into an art form, Byrne uses his craggy brow and tragic Irish eyes to their best advantage, making Paul, at the base of it, noble enough, a man seeking to correct his failings even if he can't quite bring himself to admit them.'
But if he isn't enough, future episodes promise Melissa George, Embeth Davidtz, Michelle Forbes, Blair Underwood and Dianne Wiest. In these stricken times for television, who else are you going to watch?
Reviews @ Metacritic
Edit: Mary McNamara sums up my feelings in her review:
'I stayed up past midnight, grew hollow-eyed and pale, missed meals and refused to answer my cellphone or check my e-mail just so I could squeeze in another episode. It wasn't pretty, but it sure was fun.
'Part of this you can chalk up to a lifelong pash for Byrne, who is at the top of his fretful haunted game, portraying a man truly devoted to his clients and his science and yet depressed, repressed, narcissistic and occasionally downright whiny. Having now officially turned the noncommittal murmur into an art form, Byrne uses his craggy brow and tragic Irish eyes to their best advantage, making Paul, at the base of it, noble enough, a man seeking to correct his failings even if he can't quite bring himself to admit them.'