Product Description
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Based on the hit Israeli drama Be Tipul, HBO TV series
In follows a therapist, Paul (Gabriel Byrne), whose
patients are steadily becoming more than he can handle. Each have
their dark secrets, hidden traumas, and violent battles raging
within. Among them are Laura (Melissa George), who has fallen in
love with Paul; Alex (Blair Underwood), an Iraq veteran
re-examining his life; Sophie (Mia Wasikowska), a suicidal
teenager; and Jake and Amy (Josh Charles and Embeth Davidtz), a
picture-perfect couple whose relationship is in jeopardy. This
first series finds Paul returning to therapy himself, with an old
colleague, Gina (Dianne Wiest), helping him come to terms with
his ing professional dilemmas. Like a series of one-act
plays, most of the show's dialogue-heavy episodes take place
within the confines of Paul's office. During its original
broadcast schedule, each patient was 'seen' on a different night,
five nights a week, offering viewers a unique experience of
following their development. This collection presents the drama's
complete first season.
From .co.uk
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HBO's first half-hour drama gives new meaning to the
term, "appointment television." Adapted from a popular and
award-winning Israeli series, In in its first season
aired five nights a week for nine weeks beginning in January
2008. Each episode eavesdrops on a weekly therapist-patient
session. "The magic happens" (as one observer sarcastically
remarks) in the home office of Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne in his
Golden Globe Award-winning role). Monday's patient is Laura
(Melissa George, 30 Days of Night), a doctor who reveals in a
harrowing "about last night" monologue in the first episode that
she is in love with Paul. Tuesdays bring Alex (Blair Underwood,
Dirty Sexy Money), a cocky fighter pilot whose last mission over
Iraq went horrifyingly awry, earning him the media tag, "The
Madrassa Murderer." Wednesday's child, Sophie (Mia Wasikowska in
a breakout performance) is a teenage Olympic hopeful in need of
an evaluation following a near-al bicycle accident. On
Thursdays, Paul meets with Amy (Embeth Davidtz, Matilda) and Jake
(Josh Charles, Dead Poet Society), whose rocky marriage is
further shaken as they wrestle over whether or not she should get
an . Fearing he is losing patience with his patients,
Paul turns to his former mentor, Gina (Dianne Wiest in an
Emmy-winning performance), with whom he had a falling out years
before, to talk out his own troubles. The therapist whose own
personal life is unraveling could have either been bad sitcom or
static and stagey talking heads. But with its inful writing,
powerful performances, and deft, unobtrusive direction, In
avoids the pitfalls to become an intensely gripping
drama. Each episode thrives on what Laura calls "the back and
forth stuff," the soul-searching and the questioning that strip
away the defenses of each damaged character, including Paul
himself, who has his own demons to confront as he becomes further
estranged from his neglected and resentful wife, Kate (Michelle
Forbes, True Blood), and grapples with his feelings for Laura.
This series is something of a career breakthrough for Byrne, a
celebrated character actor (Miller's Crossing, The Usual
Suspects). As the rumpled and weary Paul, he is more compelling
just sitting and listening than many actors are in action.
Quality programs for adults that deal with the human condition
are at a premium on television. For anyone whose psyche has been
red by so-called reality TV, In is excellent
therapy. --Donald Liebenson