It's hard to believe that it's been ten years since Gabriel Byrne played Satan in Arnie's action stinker End of Days. These days, he's found redemption in more of a guardian angel role.
In HBO's series inTreatment, Byrne plays Paul Weston - a psychotherapist who finds himself losing patience with his patients. This excellent series, a remake of a successful Israeli show, presents each episode as single therapy sessions in a five-day cycle.
Day 1 sees Australia's own Melissa George play a long-time patient who falls in love with Paul. On Day 2, a cocky naval pilot tries to come to terms with having unwittingly killed 16 boys during a mission in the Middle East. Then there's the kid gymnast on Day 3 who may or may not have suicidal tendencies. Day 4 deals with a couple looking to decide whether or not to have an abortion in the wake of the wife falling pregnant after five years of fertility treatments. And Day 5 may be the best of the lot. This is where Paul goes to his own therapist (Dianne Wiest) and airs his own thoughts and dirty laundry.
inTreatment is unlike anything else on TV at the moment. With little on-screen action and a heavy emphasis on dialogue, this show could probably even be enjoyed with your eyes closed. Its intelligent, natural writing, a strong, convincing cast, and enough sense to keep the clichéd psychobabble to a minimum makes inTreatment an investment in time and attention well worth undertaking.
And it appeals because it deals with everyone's favourite basic subject matter: other people's problems.
- Christain Harimanow
Distributed by Warner Home Video
