Réalisation:
Edward BergerScénario:
David NichollsPhotographie:
James FriendMusique:
Volker BertelmannActeurs·trices:
Benedict Cumberbatch, Allison Williams, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hugo Weaving, Holliday Grainger, Indira Varma, Jessica Raine, Anna Madeley (plus)VOD (2)
Épisodes(5)
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Mauvaise nouvelle (E01)
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Peu importe (E02)
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Un peu d'espoir (E03)
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Le Goût de la mère (E04)
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Enfin (E05)
Résumés(1)
Coureur de jupons alcoolique et narcissique, Patrick Melroseest un pur produit de l'aristocratie britannique. Cet homme aux tendances schizophrènes et suicidaires a connu une enfance privilégiée mais profondément traumatisante. Le décès de son père tyrannique va très vite faire remonter à la surface de douloureux souvenirs... (Koba Films)
(plus)Critiques (6)
“Of course it was wrong to want to change people, but what else could you possibly want to do with them?” Five episodes from the life of a narcissistic schizoid alcoholic with suicidal tendencies. With its relentless pace, large number of jump cuts, persistent inner dialogue, alteration of slow camera approaches and symmetrical compositions done with a roving hand-held camera, the first episode, mostly anchored in Melrose’s agitated mind, is reminiscent of an hour-long panic attack – “concentration like a flamethrower”, convulsions, tremors, suicidal thoughts. Melrose doesn't want to get sober and calm down, because he knows that he would fall into his damaged mind and get kicked around by traumatic childhood memories that hurt more than a burn or needle puncture and that are approximated by the outwardly light, but at its core horror-like, second episode (with his father as a dreaded monster), thus transforming the meaning of the first episode (we initially gleefully laugh at him and then we regret it). ___ Patrick is too honest with himself to be able to completely deny part of his self and pretend that nothing had happened to him (like the rest of the upper crust to which he belongs, at least based on his origin). Drugs and alcohol help to distract him from his thoughts and the voices in his head. ___ Melrose’s determination to take control over his own life, starting at the end of the first episode with the initial manifestation of years of supressed emotions, continues in the third episode, which at first is as apathetic, slow and humourless as a man kicking his addictions. The onslaught of emotions is strongest when Patrick is alone. On one hand, going out means seeing people who are just as unbearable as his father. On the other hand, the party to which he was invited primarily shows how the same disturbing patterns of upbringing are repeated in aristocratic families and the same humiliating rituals take precedence over human decency, which is something that Melrose will strive to avoid at all costs. The work culminates in one of the best-written, acted and rhythmised dialogue scenes that has ever appeared on the small screen. Melrose confides his darkest secret to a friend and expresses his desire to become part of the real world and to somehow be more beneficial now that he has more or less gotten clean. However, he worries that if he gets rid of his bitterness, resentment, sarcasm, snobbery and self-loathing, there may be nothing left. His friend suggests that he should try to fill his life with something more valuable, such as love and parenthood. ___ Again presented predominantly from Melrose’s point of view, the fourth episode shows, however, that even if you surround yourself with high-quality people, you will not necessarily begin to believe that you have any value yourself. Melrose strives to protect his kids from the family curse until he again sinks into depression and addiction. Though his son is not being abused, he finds himself in a similarly uncertain and stressful position as Patrick did at the same age. The final episode shows another cycle of Patrick’s debilitating struggle with himself and, at the same time, concludes one lifecycle, when Melrose buries his mother, who followed his father in death. His alternately growing and weakening belief that he can now keep himself upright on his own two feet is expressed by the alternation of two levels of the story, two motions (falling inward and moving forward). If he wants to succeed, he will have to give up not only drugs and alcohol, but also his dependency on his father, mother and everyone else who influenced him, and gain his independence from the idea of the kind of life he should lead and who he should be. Thanks to the precision, perspective and perceptiveness with which the series depicts his struggle marked by ups, downs and repetition, viewing all five episodes has something like a psychotherapeutic effect. Patrick Melrose is very entertaining, very dark and very powerful, making it the highlight of this year's live-action television production so far (and probably of Cumberbatch’s career).
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(moins)
(plus)
A great TV series from the world of the young, promising and rich who are on top of that under the influence of drugs, booze and a despotic father who takes whatever he wants. A harsh reflection of a certain sort of people and a certain period, ruled by Benedict Cumberbatch and his almost demonic way of acting. It’s a pity it was bit too long for the 5-star rating. The story could be easily reduced to a length of a normal movie. It is still a very good dramatic piece with a strong storyline, but it is a bit lacking in the finale.
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Each episode is different, interesting and inspiring in its own way. The first mainly stylistically, the second for its disturbing concentration of hopelessness and disjointed innocence, the rest as a blackly humorous and ironic portrait of a narcissistic social elite where the important values of life are blurred in a whirlwind of stiff parties and self-centred family attitudes. All this accompanied by a psychologically refined portrait of the title character, who’s an asshole and knows it, but how else to survive in this world, how else to maintain one’s own hated identity? I almost regret that it was so short and time-skipping, because the material for knowingly immoral smirks and the deepening of Patrick's relationship with his repulsive world was more than solidly set up. On the other hand, it’s better to stop when you’re on top, and I wish Edward Berger some proper feature-length flicks, because his great direction clearly pushes Patrick Melrose into the company of the most interesting TV series of the last few years – alongside, of course, the performances of Benedict Cumberbatch, who downright entertains with every line, and Hugo Weaving, who confirms his innate mastery of the bad guy even in a small space. Great.
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With each passing episode, it becomes more and more palpable how Patrick Melrose is waiting for a cliché to set him free, but it either doesn't come at all or is so briskly deflected by his cynicism that it can never come back. The entire series is essentially a last-minute dodge from whatever cliché the subject matter offers, and it becomes increasingly frustrating as it does so. It eventually becomes ever clearer that Patrick's life will never land anywhere with a simple plot twist and realization, but will require of him a long, arduous journey of humility and self-reflection without ever losing himself – an arrogant bourgeois punk who has all the answers and the world revolves around him. "Of course, the other danger is that without bitterness, spite, sarcasm, snobbery, and self-loathing, there might be nothing left." Along with a lot of ruthless and apt commentary on the decay of the bourgeoisie, this is one of the best articulated works dealing with individual disconnection and the desperate attempt to find substitutes for all that is lacking, offering almost no redemption in the realization of one's own selfishness. All of this wouldn't work on its own without truly first-rate source material (to be published in English by Argo), which is converted into an episode of the series a book at a time. The fact that this compression is not obvious in the script at all is a really respectable calling card for screenwriter David Nicholls. Last but not least (I'd like to salute the audience in the last row!! hahahaha!!!!), it's worth mentioning that none of this would have worked so well if the cast of the entire troubled Melrose family hadn't given the performances of a lifetime. In other words, that Cumberbatch and Weaving are on another level entirely is no surprise, but Jennifer Jason Leigh's recent second wave (Good Time, The Hateful Eight) is truly spectacular.
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I was pleasantly surprised by this series. I was baffled a little by the first episode because I laughed unexpectedly often, which I wouldn’t expect of a drama, but the following episodes did the genre justice. The show is an excellent drama with a suffocating atmosphere, snobbish manners and great acting performances (Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugo Weaving, J.J. Leigh, Holliday Grainger) that I really enjoyed. I wish there were more shows like this one.
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The whole miniseries is permeated by the relentless idea of the terrifying impact a messed-up childhood can have on a person's life when parents are unable to give their offspring much-needed love. Benedict Cumberbatch hasn't really impressed me in the film world yet, but after his tasteful turn as Patrick Melrose, I have to admit that I finally acquired a taste for him. To tell you the truth, I can't imagine who could play such a psychologically traumatized individual better. I would also like to highlight the excellent camera work, the fantastic soundtrack enhancing the atmosphere, and the amazing makeup for the aging actors, which adds even more to the gloomy mood of the already quite melancholic story. All of this is spiced up with biting sarcasm. I'd like to have at least a double helping of this depressing serial treat.
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