Notes:
1. I am ever grateful this is a series and not a movie due to the complexity of the subject matter
2.My review is long and either read it all to understand my full view or don’t read it as you simply wouldn’t understand
3. Benedict Cumberbatch is an amazing actor
Thank you
Episode 1: Bad News
“You mean the voices just aren’t in my head?- Fuck”
*
*Patrick Melrose, a 23 year old living in 1982 London trying to overcome his abuse in an unorthodox manner.
The episode starts with a phone call informing Patrick that his father, David, has died. The camera then pans down to see a single red blood spot over the inside of Patricks elbow, he has injected heroin into his vein. Patrick then leaves for New York to collect his father’s ashes by this time he has sworn to go cold turkey and leave all drugs and drinks behind. When he reaches the hotel room he is severely overstimulated and is experiencing extreme withdrawals; leading us to believe he has been abusing substance for a long time. After taking drugs and drinks, everything around him is very vibrant and intoxicating, showing the exaggerated view on the world and laying the base work of him being an unreliable narrator.
We see then Patrick look at his father in the coffin, where Patrick still feels the threatening control of his father still on him. We then see Patrick get flashbacks to his childhood to which he doesn’t respond nicely to. He gets agitated and queasy. Patrick meets up with his friend who met him when he was a child-experiencing the abuse. As the person knew he was experiencing the abuse she started to apologise to which Patrick rapidly thought “eject, eject, eject”. I love how they added this, Patrick immediately froze and wanted to go as soon as they started to talk about himself. As a child he had no one to talk to, furthering his isolation of his feelings and lowering the importance of them in the grand scheme of things. Showing he cant trust anyone but himself and he believed this from a young age.Bringing back bad memories.He then goes to another restaurant by himself where he is heavily drugged and his light-heartedness to his awful childhood is amplified with jokes.
When he meets with another women in the restaurant she says that you can open up to me which Patrick starts to but then is interrupted by the waiter. When bringing up the conversation again Patrick easily dismisses it showing how he has been ignored easily before and that nobody has kept this “promise” to hear or understand Patrick.
This episode ends with a phone call which is a beautiful parallel to the start of the episode showing the cycle of abuse and is effects.
Episode 2: Nevermind
“It was an accident, don’t tell father”
“Oh I wouldn’t dream of it”
*
*Flashback of Patrick being 8 years old in France 1967.
8 year old Patrick is playing in the garden of his home in France, squashing figs and running along the fields. The colours are very vibrant, almost too vibrant suggesting Patricks distorted view on his childhood. As soon as we are introduced to this episode we hear a buzzing of bees or wasps which is very irritating to most people. This sound is then heavily contrasted with the sound of Patricks father playing the piano- offering sanctuary, serenity and safety. Which, we know by now, Patrick’s father does not give.
Patricks mother is an alcoholic and drug abuser and is jealous of Patrick. Patrick avoids eye contact in a an attempt to make him smaller so he doesn’t get picked on or seen as much. For the first time we see Patrick and his father interact where he gets pulled by the ears and shouted at. Patrick is then called by his father again and whilst Patrick is walking towards his father he starts naming all planets as a coping mechanism and distraction to the inevitable. His father explains that he is teaching Patrick the skill of detachment, which is not only dangerous but lethal not just for those who are surrounded by Patrick but Patrick himself. He would become detached from himself, his emotions and therefore his personality through these experiences. His father then sexually assaults Patrick, where we see the house become quiet and no one is there mirroring Patricks view that no one was there for him at the time.
20 minutes later Patricks drunken mother asks him what’s wrong after promising him that she would talk to him later with full attention. Patrick then asks if she wanted him to refill her drink to which she eagerly accepted, distracting her from her earlier promise of listening to Patrick. Patrick is the walking down the stairs when he hears the voice of his father to which he freezes. He then smashes the cup by accident without realising in his hand and falls down the stairs. This could be because of many reasons, the mental exhaustion, an attempt, or a desire to be seen.The father hears him fall and doesn’t care and his mother comes quietly down the stairs.
We then see this quote which really is heart moving. The trauma bond created is horrible, between a mother and a child, such a bond shouldn’t exist.
This episode ends with Patrick in bed to which father says don’t tell anyone or I’ll snap you in two. We first see Patrick uncomfortably big in his bed implying how suffocated he feels but then we see a lizard which was there when he was touched by his father and then we see Patrick almost being engulfed by his enormous bed; showing the effects of abuse.
****
Episode 3: Some hope
“My experience of love, you get excited thinking someone can mend your broken heart, disappointed when you realise they can’t”
*
*Patrick, 33 in 1990 England.
How plainly put. We see the memory we are left off with in Ep. 2 and Patrick himself wakes up to this memory. Showing how it affects him so deeply it is always at the forefront of his mind. Many people think what time is it? Am i late for work? Or Where is my phone? This being this first worry waking up is heartbreaking. Still after many of years showing the effect of trauma. He then goes to pour coffee and when he is adding sugar he spills some and pours around 4 tsps. He gathers the spilt sugar and orders them in lines- like coke.
Patrick is convinced to go to a party and the director shows us people plating stuff with fancy food and silverware. Contrasting with Patricks polystyrene cup with coffee- amazing. Patrick then goes to a AA meeting which he despises to pick his friend up who is getting hit on at a AA meeting which is mental. I really admire the switch between the jokes and heavy topics, showing that life is not always one, whilst in the building Patrick says “shes not an addict she just likes a bit of coke- amateur” then a few beats late “there things I haven’t told anybody and never will, including you”.
Benedict Cumberbatch then got ready for this party in which he looked really good in the tuxedo. Nicholas is a mean gossip.
Patrick then picked up broken glassware to which he got flashbacks from falling down the stairs, he then opens up to his friend to which the friend has a feeble attempt at offering support. When he started describing as transforming as the gecko to make it quicker i really felt that.
His friend then decided to give the most horrible advice to Patrick and that was the “become detached from oneself”. BECOME DETACHED FROM ONESELF? THEN BECOME ATTACHED TO SOMEONE ELSE. That is awful not only will you damage yourself with not feeling like yourself, constant flashbacks and nausea from the event and not processing it properly due to the detachment but also the person who you want to love. You therefore don’t love the person if you’re only with them to detach from yourself. Starting a family in this sense is selfish and rude, how can you believe that again the answer to your mental problems from the abuse lies within other people. It solely relies on you.
Also, the worst flirting i have seen on television.
Episode 4: Mothers milk
“I loathe the poison dripping down from generation to generation”
*
*Patrick, France 2003 44 years with wife Mary and two sons.
We start by seeing the very same house Patrick was assaulted in, which is unsettling. We see a bug and then Patrick traps it using a glass instead of stubbing it out with a cigar like his father did. This suggests that Patrick is different from his father and not carrying the “poison” to his children. Yet we can see he is carrying it in another way.
As i child you obviously look up to your parents as they are your caregivers and ones that are ideal and perfect people. So even if Patrick did not want to copy his father’s characteristics he still has through the way he talks, some of his sarcastic jokes and the undermining of others. After Patrick finds out his mother is giving the house away to a society which he disagrees with, he storms out the room. His son then follows in a similar manner ignoring his grandmother rudely and leaving. Showing the extent of the effect of a parents behaviour on children. As much as Patrick doesn’t want to carry this he does and hurts his children in the meanwhile.
Then Lucy comes and he cheats on his wife with Lucy whilst relapsing and becoming drunk again and this affects their oldest son who feels alone.
Episode 5: At last
“This is rage my heart is racing with it, she knew, she must’ve known, surely she must’ve, even subconsciously she knew what he was like”
*
*Patrick, London 2005 divorced.
Patrick is now divorced, rightfully so. I love Mary as she’s the one to end the cycle or at least trying to, when she sees things going out of order with Patrick she immediately gets rid of him. I also realised that Patricks kid wears the same outfit that Patrick wore when he was a kid. Showing the parallels. Honestly it’s getting exhausting with the parallels and gut wrenching like we get it the cycle never stops just stop.
We get a flashback where Patrick told his mother about his father and all she said is “me too”. BRO don’t make me mad. But Benedict’s acting in that scene was impeccable. The confusion, hurt and worry all mixed in one was stunning to see. Mother only cared about herself and the fact that she just accepted his fact without questioning it or worrying showed that she knew all along.
Honestly at this point I don’t know how he hasn’t become desensitised towards this although both of his abusers are dead.
Patrick then has an attack, then he is taken to the hospital, a psychiatric hospital and joins AA meetings to which he finds another girl. To which he then tries to visit but changes his mind. Nicholas dies, which is actually a good thing because at the end he was becoming extremely weird.
We then fully unlock Patricks memory of the french home he goes to the bathroom. We see that Patrick says no to which his father start to cry. To anyone that says his father starts to cry because he feels the weight of his actions- you lack all types of intelligence. His father cries at the end as he realises (1) he can no longer manipulate his child, (2) his lack of control (3) some other fucking reason that i frankly don’t give a shit about. Your honour i don’t give one why he was crying all i care about is Patrick.
Patrick then ends the phone call of Nicholas drying and heads out by closing the door and accepting his wife’s lunch invitation and leaves. There’s a normal white door with bright white light at the other end. Hopefully symbolised new beginnings (please).
All in all Cumberbatch’s performance was sublime.
Notes:
1. I am ever grateful this is a series and not a movie due to the complexity of the subject matter
2.My review is long and either read it all to understand my full view or don’t read it as you simply wouldn’t understand
3. Benedict Cumberbatch is an amazing actor
Thank you
Episode 1: Bad News
“You mean the voices just aren’t in my head?- Fuck”
*
*Patrick Melrose, a 23 year old living in 1982 London trying to overcome his abuse in an unorthodox manner.
The episode starts with a phone call informing Patrick that his father, David, has died. The camera then pans down to see a single red blood spot over the inside of Patricks elbow, he has injected heroin into his vein. Patrick then leaves for New York to collect his father’s ashes by this time he has sworn to go cold turkey and leave all drugs and drinks behind. When he reaches the hotel room he is severely overstimulated and is experiencing extreme withdrawals; leading us to believe he has been abusing substance for a long time. After taking drugs and drinks, everything around him is very vibrant and intoxicating, showing the exaggerated view on the world and laying the base work of him being an unreliable narrator.
We see then Patrick look at his father in the coffin, where Patrick still feels the threatening control of his father still on him. We then see Patrick get flashbacks to his childhood to which he doesn’t respond nicely to. He gets agitated and queasy. Patrick meets up with his friend who met him when he was a child-experiencing the abuse. As the person knew he was experiencing the abuse she started to apologise to which Patrick rapidly thought “eject, eject, eject”. I love how they added this, Patrick immediately froze and wanted to go as soon as they started to talk about himself. As a child he had no one to talk to, furthering his isolation of his feelings and lowering the importance of them in the grand scheme of things. Showing he cant trust anyone but himself and he believed this from a young age.Bringing back bad memories.He then goes to another restaurant by himself where he is heavily drugged and his light-heartedness to his awful childhood is amplified with jokes.
When he meets with another women in the restaurant she says that you can open up to me which Patrick starts to but then is interrupted by the waiter. When bringing up the conversation again Patrick easily dismisses it showing how he has been ignored easily before and that nobody has kept this “promise” to hear or understand Patrick.
This episode ends with a phone call which is a beautiful parallel to the start of the episode showing the cycle of abuse and is effects.
Episode 2: Nevermind
“It was an accident, don’t tell father”
“Oh I wouldn’t dream of it”
*
*Flashback of Patrick being 8 years old in France 1967.
8 year old Patrick is playing in the garden of his home in France, squashing figs and running along the fields. The colours are very vibrant, almost too vibrant suggesting Patricks distorted view on his childhood. As soon as we are introduced to this episode we hear a buzzing of bees or wasps which is very irritating to most people. This sound is then heavily contrasted with the sound of Patricks father playing the piano- offering sanctuary, serenity and safety. Which, we know by now, Patrick’s father does not give.
Patricks mother is an alcoholic and drug abuser and is jealous of Patrick. Patrick avoids eye contact in a an attempt to make him smaller so he doesn’t get picked on or seen as much. For the first time we see Patrick and his father interact where he gets pulled by the ears and shouted at. Patrick is then called by his father again and whilst Patrick is walking towards his father he starts naming all planets as a coping mechanism and distraction to the inevitable. His father explains that he is teaching Patrick the skill of detachment, which is not only dangerous but lethal not just for those who are surrounded by Patrick but Patrick himself. He would become detached from himself, his emotions and therefore his personality through these experiences. His father then sexually assaults Patrick, where we see the house become quiet and no one is there mirroring Patricks view that no one was there for him at the time.
20 minutes later Patricks drunken mother asks him what’s wrong after promising him that she would talk to him later with full attention. Patrick then asks if she wanted him to refill her drink to which she eagerly accepted, distracting her from her earlier promise of listening to Patrick. Patrick is the walking down the stairs when he hears the voice of his father to which he freezes. He then smashes the cup by accident without realising in his hand and falls down the stairs. This could be because of many reasons, the mental exhaustion, an attempt, or a desire to be seen.The father hears him fall and doesn’t care and his mother comes quietly down the stairs.
We then see this quote which really is heart moving. The trauma bond created is horrible, between a mother and a child, such a bond shouldn’t exist.
This episode ends with Patrick in bed to which father says don’t tell anyone or I’ll snap you in two. We first see Patrick uncomfortably big in his bed implying how suffocated he feels but then we see a lizard which was there when he was touched by his father and then we see Patrick almost being engulfed by his enormous bed; showing the effects of abuse.
****
Episode 3: Some hope
“My experience of love, you get excited thinking someone can mend your broken heart, disappointed when you realise they can’t”
*
*Patrick, 33 in 1990 England.
How plainly put. We see the memory we are left off with in Ep. 2 and Patrick himself wakes up to this memory. Showing how it affects him so deeply it is always at the forefront of his mind. Many people think what time is it? Am i late for work? Or Where is my phone? This being this first worry waking up is heartbreaking. Still after many of years showing the effect of trauma. He then goes to pour coffee and when he is adding sugar he spills some and pours around 4 tsps. He gathers the spilt sugar and orders them in lines- like coke.
Patrick is convinced to go to a party and the director shows us people plating stuff with fancy food and silverware. Contrasting with Patricks polystyrene cup with coffee- amazing. Patrick then goes to a AA meeting which he despises to pick his friend up who is getting hit on at a AA meeting which is mental. I really admire the switch between the jokes and heavy topics, showing that life is not always one, whilst in the building Patrick says “shes not an addict she just likes a bit of coke- amateur” then a few beats late “there things I haven’t told anybody and never will, including you”.
Benedict Cumberbatch then got ready for this party in which he looked really good in the tuxedo. Nicholas is a mean gossip.
Patrick then picked up broken glassware to which he got flashbacks from falling down the stairs, he then opens up to his friend to which the friend has a feeble attempt at offering support. When he started describing as transforming as the gecko to make it quicker i really felt that.
His friend then decided to give the most horrible advice to Patrick and that was the “become detached from oneself”. BECOME DETACHED FROM ONESELF? THEN BECOME ATTACHED TO SOMEONE ELSE. That is awful not only will you damage yourself with not feeling like yourself, constant flashbacks and nausea from the event and not processing it properly due to the detachment but also the person who you want to love. You therefore don’t love the person if you’re only with them to detach from yourself. Starting a family in this sense is selfish and rude, how can you believe that again the answer to your mental problems from the abuse lies within other people. It solely relies on you.
Also, the worst flirting i have seen on television.
Episode 4: Mothers milk
“I loathe the poison dripping down from generation to generation”
*
*Patrick, France 2003 44 years with wife Mary and two sons.
We start by seeing the very same house Patrick was assaulted in, which is unsettling. We see a bug and then Patrick traps it using a glass instead of stubbing it out with a cigar like his father did. This suggests that Patrick is different from his father and not carrying the “poison” to his children. Yet we can see he is carrying it in another way.
As i child you obviously look up to your parents as they are your caregivers and ones that are ideal and perfect people. So even if Patrick did not want to copy his father’s characteristics he still has through the way he talks, some of his sarcastic jokes and the undermining of others. After Patrick finds out his mother is giving the house away to a society which he disagrees with, he storms out the room. His son then follows in a similar manner ignoring his grandmother rudely and leaving. Showing the extent of the effect of a parents behaviour on children. As much as Patrick doesn’t want to carry this he does and hurts his children in the meanwhile.
Then Lucy comes and he cheats on his wife with Lucy whilst relapsing and becoming drunk again and this affects their oldest son who feels alone.
Episode 5: At last
“This is rage my heart is racing with it, she knew, she must’ve known, surely she must’ve, even subconsciously she knew what he was like”
*
*Patrick, London 2005 divorced.
Patrick is now divorced, rightfully so. I love Mary as she’s the one to end the cycle or at least trying to, when she sees things going out of order with Patrick she immediately gets rid of him. I also realised that Patricks kid wears the same outfit that Patrick wore when he was a kid. Showing the parallels. Honestly it’s getting exhausting with the parallels and gut wrenching like we get it the cycle never stops just stop.
We get a flashback where Patrick told his mother about his father and all she said is “me too”. BRO don’t make me mad. But Benedict’s acting in that scene was impeccable. The confusion, hurt and worry all mixed in one was stunning to see. Mother only cared about herself and the fact that she just accepted his fact without questioning it or worrying showed that she knew all along.
Honestly at this point I don’t know how he hasn’t become desensitised towards this although both of his abusers are dead.
Patrick then has an attack, then he is taken to the hospital, a psychiatric hospital and joins AA meetings to which he finds another girl. To which he then tries to visit but changes his mind. Nicholas dies, which is actually a good thing because at the end he was becoming extremely weird.
We then fully unlock Patricks memory of the french home he goes to the bathroom. We see that Patrick says no to which his father start to cry. To anyone that says his father starts to cry because he feels the weight of his actions- you lack all types of intelligence. His father cries at the end as he realises (1) he can no longer manipulate his child, (2) his lack of control (3) some other fucking reason that i frankly don’t give a shit about. Your honour i don’t give one why he was crying all i care about is Patrick.
Patrick then ends the phone call of Nicholas drying and heads out by closing the door and accepting his wife’s lunch invitation and leaves. There’s a normal white door with bright white light at the other end. Hopefully symbolised new beginnings (please).
All in all Cumberbatch’s performance was sublime.
