Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, The Servant, Split. The Apple TV+ series is unlikely to disappoint, also because the platform is pursuing a strategy of providing relatively few available per month, but very high quality and with a stellar cast. There are no rules without exceptions, however, and here’s the Crowded Room to break the spell. Inspired by Billy Milligan, a 70s outlaw affected by 26 multiple personalities, unfortunately for the protagonist’s interpretation we find the beloved Tom Holland, the youngest of the Spider-Man. One episode is enough to pine for the days when he was at least filming with a superhero mask on his face. And to think that Leonardo DiCaprio has dreamed (was going to) play this role since the 1990s…
Gjustice for Alberto Tomba. His first (and only) starring film was released in 2000, and to this day he is still regarded as a sommelier cult film abyss. The skiing champion was unable to utter a single line, on the contrary, in some scenes he kept the lines written on the palm of his hand to please the camera, and read with impunity to get rid of the burden of the set. As soon as possible. Next to him is the equally slightly extraordinary Michelle Hunziker. Why mention this catastrophe that happened two decades ago? Because at the end of July, “A Crowded Room” was released on Apple TV Plus, a platform that is usually the harbinger of great TV series, whose main character, “Spider-Man” Tom Holland, is very similar to the legendary forced Italian skier in terms of expressiveness, facial expressions and complete incompetence in front of the camera. We do not know how the young man is doing with the giant slalom, but the game seems completely alien to him. Sin. Because the project itself had some of the most exciting prerequisites: tell the story of Billy Milligan, a criminal who was found to have multiple personalities during a trial for the kidnapping and rape of three girls in the 1970s. Of 26 multiple personalities. At the time, a diagnosis of the disorder did not yet exist, but the whole line of defense was to cast doubt on the jury: Can this person really be held “responsible” for their actions? Quite a dilemma. At least as much as the titanic undertaking to play a character who is actually almost 30. You need to take an actor with a capital letter, like James McAvoy from Split (director M. Night Shyamalan, 2016) . Instead, the casting board chose 27-year-old Tom Holland, which not only ruined the series, but also gave him a very bad shot, as today we know without a doubt that without Spider-Man’s mask covering his face, he leaves a mark. trace, it does not exist on the stage. And to think that Leonardo DiCaprio has been seeking the role of Milligan since the nineties in the film of the same name, which has been talked about since at least 2015, but which now, in all likelihood, we will never see … Let’s delve into this abyss, in detail, without spoilers, how and why ten episodes Crowded room are in every way a colossal waste of time.
“Danny, can you tell me why you’re here?” already at the beginning of the trailer, the psychologist played by Amanda Seyfried (Oscar nominee and Emmy winner for her incredible performance in the Disney Plus miniseries Throwout – bring it back!) Danny Sullivan, the main character played by Tom Holland and inspired by Billy Milligan. The suspicion is that she wanted this, with all her soul, to ask even the very “acting” puppy that was in front of her. His support is not malicious intent, but simple objective analysis. And we can assure you that we are not in marmalade soup for wasting ten hours of our time before this wash, which would perhaps raise the right eyebrow, but also the left one, even to Netflix, which he usually puts on the titles of his subscribers and titles for every taste, especially for less refined ones.
The story distances itself from the actual crimes committed by Milligan from the start. Here, our main character does not kidnap three girls (also because the plot of “Split” could not be copied verbatim), but is “limited” to shooting into the crowd without killing anyone, and immediately gets into a cage. Of course he doesn’t remember how he did it. No, he was with a girlfriend who went berserk, and all of a sudden she pulled out a gun, spitting out bullets like cherry pits. A flimsy script written by the same writer as A Beautiful Mind with Russell Crowe (!!), immediately makes it clear that ours, as a disadvantaged person, with whom no one at school (but even in the family) talks … has too many “friends” around. And where will these guys come from? Instead, a shocking plot twist is felt from the very first minutes.
OREach of Danny’s “friends” is played by a different actor, as well as a different actress. A wonderful team in the grove of his imagination, which, in addition to not always needed, memorizes the narrative, gives a great assist to Holland: he doesn’t have to do anything. Sitting in front of psychologist Seyfried, he blurts out his memories, including memory holes, with a permanently stunned expression. Stop. Thus her interpretive work is completed unnecessarily – and effortlessly – in complementary terms, by the spark of life in the glassy gaze she holds. It’s a pity that on the opening day of the casting, our carpenter didn’t come with thirty thousand lire…
The decision not to burden Holland with all the personalities on which his character depends can be explained as a narrative device. However, confirmation that this is not (only) the case becomes overbearing when towards the eighth episode we see him step into the role of one of them. In desperation, the make-up department “painted” his eyes with pencil and jet black rhinestones from eye sockets to eyebrows to try and give him a slightly charismatic or at least different look. Unfortunately, nothing could counter Holland’s ineptitude, less expressive than dear old Alberto Tomba. It’s clear from these (few) scenes how much the choice to increase the cast was not really a “choice”. But the real need. There still seem to be echoes of the expletives during the production call, which must have followed the first take. Add memes from Boris if you want.
PSo it could be that the entire script succumbed to the protagonist’s ineptitude. Or that it was written from the very beginning only with the big toe of the left foot. Back in 1996, a young Edward Norton (yes, we know, different times, different league) did a great job playing the “double” and disturbing character on trial in Shards of Fear. As with McAvoy in “Split”, “just” the blink of an eye, a slight intonation of the voice, a tick that may seem random, or all these details pass in a few seconds from one “personality” to another and give the cinema an unforgettable performance. In short, you just need to know how to do it. If you want to get or watch them, both titles mentioned here are available on Netflix.
However, it’s really amazing to think that Tom Holland has over 60 million Instagram followers as a world famous Hollywood actor. As an “actor”, more than anything. Judging by the depressing performance he showed here on Apple TV+, he’s hardly worthy of the role. Indeed, a runner. Some kind soul will return the Spider-Man mask to him, please.