Still, there’s Holland, who, like frequent scene partner Seyfried, brings considerable pathos and effort to the role. I cannot be too specific about what he does or why he does it, but there are glimmers of a truly tremendous actor in him. He conveys lightness and joy with equal surefootedness as he does moments of unimaginable emotional devastation. The problem, I fear, is his choice of projects. Perhaps playing a relentlessly heavy role like Danny Sullivan is a reprieve and a welcome challenge compared to the grind of playing Marvel’s Spider-Man. But there are not too many differences between this ceaselessly dark exploration of mental illness and, say, “Precious.” Both feature great performances, agony, and to some degree, a sense of realism, but neither transcends the bounds of artistic imagination. And frankly, both are interminably dark, so when they insist on sprinkling hope fairy dust all over the narrative, the audience is robbed of the story’s honesty. (In contrast, HBO’s “Barry” is a hilarious, terrific exploration of trauma and PTSD with 30-minute episodes; the same is true for FX’s “You’re the Worst,” to date the TV show that comes closest to portraying my own severe depression and anxiety.) By the time “The Crowded Room” started pulling Raymond Burr-era “Perry Mason”-esque tricks in the courtroom, I was annoyed beyond belief anyone would think this was a reasonable way to depict how mentally ill folks are treated by the American criminal justice system.
Somewhere, deep down in this tragic tale of a young man struggling with his mental health, there’s a good story, a universal one, about how this country’s nonexistent social safety net constantly and spectacularly fails vulnerable groups: children, the mentally ill, abused partners , people of color. But when you try to tell that story with lines of dialogue that are never explained, and dollop in B-roll of late 1970s New York that looks like it was filmed with a completely different camera than the one used on the actors, and add a smorgasbord of Hollywood’s cliches of mental health, you cannot succeed. Creating awareness and sending a message are all very well. The quality of the art you use in the process matters too.
The entire season was screened for review. The first three episodes of “The Crowded Room” are available on Apple TV+ on June 9th.