Description:
HBO's first half-hour drama gives new meaning to the term, "appointment television." Adapted from a popular and award-winning Israeli series, In Treatment in its first season aired five nights a week for nine weeks beginning in January 2008. Each episode eavesdrops on a weekly therapist-patient session. "The magic happens" (as one observer sarcastically remarks) in the home office of Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne in his Golden Globe Award-winning role). Monday's patient is Laura (Melissa George, 30 Days of Night), a doctor who reveals in a harrowing "about last night" monologue in the first episode tha
HBO's first half-hour drama gives new meaning to the term, "appointment television." Adapted from a popular and award-winning Israeli series, In Treatment in its first season aired five nights a week for nine weeks beginning in January 2008. Each episode eavesdrops on a weekly therapist-patient session. "The magic happens" (as one observer sarcastically remarks) in the home office of Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne in his Golden Globe Award-winning role). Monday's patient is Laura (Melissa George, 30 Days of Night), a doctor who reveals in a harrowing "about last night" monologue in the first episode that she is in love with Paul. Tuesdays bring Alex (Blair Underwood, Dirty Sexy Money), a cocky fighter pilot whose last mission over Iraq went horrifyingly awry, earning him the media tag, "The Madrassa Murderer." Wednesday's child, Sophie (Mia Wasikowska in a breakout performance) is a teenage Olympic hopeful in need of an evaluation following a near-fatal bicycle accident. On Thursdays, Paul meets with Amy (Embeth Davidtz, Matilda) and Jake (Josh Charles, Dead Poet Society), whose rocky marriage is further shaken as they wrestle over whether or not she should get an abortion. Fearing he is losing patience with his patients, Paul turns to his former mentor, Gina (Dianne Wiest in an Emmy-winning performance), with whom he had a falling out years before, to talk out his own troubles. The therapist whose own personal life is unraveling could have either been bad sitcom or static and stagey talking heads. But with its insightful writing, powerful performances, and deft, unobtrusive direction, In Treatment avoids the pitfalls to become an intensely gripping drama. Each episode thrives on what Laura calls "the back and forth stuff," the soul-searching and the questioning that strip away the defenses of each damaged character, including Paul himself, who has his own demons to confront as he becomes further estranged from his neglected and resentful wife, Kate (Michelle Forbes, True Blood), and grapples with his feelings for Laura. This series is something of a career breakthrough for Byrne, a celebrated character actor (Miller's Crossing, The Usual Suspects). As the rumpled and weary Paul, he is more compelling just sitting and listening than many actors are in action. Quality programs for adults that deal with the human condition are at a premium on television. For anyone whose psyche has been scarred by so-called reality TV, In Treatment is excellent therapy. --Donald Liebenson
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Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Release date: 1 February 2010
Number of discs: 9
EAN: 5051892012492
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