On June 9, the premiere of the series "Crowded Room" took place on Apple TV+ — three episodes were released. The first season is based on the documentary novel by Daniel Keyes "The Mysterious Story of Billy Milligan", which tells about a man diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. It is assumed that the following seasons will also be devoted to mental illness.
Director Cornel Mundrutso ("The White God") and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman ("I am a Legend", "The Da Vinci Code") worked on the series. Starring Tom Holland ("Spider‑Man: No Way Home"), Amanda Seifred ("Monk"), Emmy Rossum ("Shameless"), Christopher Abbott ("Catch-22").
Danny Sullivan is detained after an attempted murder. Investigators can't find the accomplice that Sullivan is constantly talking about. During the interrogation, the man tells about his life and the people who surrounded him. Gradually, both he and the investigator realize that many of his friends have never really existed.
Predictability is the most important problem of the series, which complicates viewing. Prior to the release, Apple TV reports that "Crowded Room" is based on Keyes' novel. If you have read a book (or at least a Wikipedia page), you already understand that you will see a story about a person in whose head there are more than 20 personalities. However, the series develops as if you don't know it. The moment revealing the essence of the hero has been moved to the middle of the season. Therefore, the first three episodes simply hint at the subsequent "unexpected" plot twist.
Watching "Crowded Room" is the same as playing thimbles with a child. Retelling the events of the first three episodes is very difficult — simply because nothing happens. It seems that the first scene of the first episode in conjunction with the synopsis reported about the main character more than the next two-plus hours.
The plot is developing too slowly, so the details attract attention. And with them everything is sad. The first really tense moment occurs only in the third series. The romantic relationship of the main character is also not impressive — they are too boring.
Sometimes Sullivan remembers another episode from his life, and during the time that the flashback is going on, you start to forget why he's telling it at all. If the interrogation and retelling of the biography of the main character would be more specific, then the timing would easily be halved.
Danny is surrounded by completely uninteresting people. A good worried mother, an evil stepfather, a stranger‑savior, an adventurer friend ‑ and each hero is made as lazily as possible. A good caste smooths out problems, but not always.
But if some characters are just boring, then others, on the contrary, are too eccentric. In principle, already by this division it is possible to understand who really exists and who is the next personality of Danny.
The story of Billy Milligan has been trying to be filmed for several years, and each new project attracted famous actors — Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Leonardo DiCaprio and others could play the main character. Playing the role of a person with a "plurality of personalities" is an opportunity to demonstrate their versatility. It is enough to recall the admiration that James Mac received‑Eva after "Split". As a result, Milligan (or a hero similar to him) was played by Tom Holland and he coped perfectly.
First of all, Holland appears in the image of a downtrodden teenager who has problems both at school and in the family. It's funny that his mom is Emmy Rossum, who is only 9 years older than Tom, but they look natural on the screen. Sometimes (as far as the script allows) Holland pleases with expression. The actor does everything so that at least his personal fans can watch the series. At the same time, formally, he remains in the same role as he was in Spider‑Man, which slightly devalues the performance — he has already played such a hero.
"Crowded Room" looks like a series that keeps the viewer for a fool. A minimum of information, a minimum of plot, but an abundance of memories that do not affect what is happening. The authors had a bright story, but they decided to stretch it into 10 episodes — it has faded so much that even the first series look faded. But if you just want to see Tom Holland on the screen, then you can turn on the series — although it's better to review "Spider‑Man", at least something is happening there.
