The
state of psychological treatment was pretty grim around the late Nineteenth
Century, but fortunately you were much more likely to die from disease,
malnutrition, or industrial accidents before depression or schizophrenia could
really run their course. Murder was also a possibility. Dr. Laszlo Kreizler is
a progressive head-shrinker and a pioneering criminologist loosely attached to
the NYPD. Even the reformist commissioner, Teddy Roosevelt is skeptical of his
methods, but he will empower his investigation of a suspected serial killer
anyway in TNT’s limited series adaptation of Caleb Carr’s The Alienist (trailer
here), which premieres tomorrow night.
Kreizler
is an odd fellow, but he still has a knack for convincing newspaper illustrator
John Moore to do his bidding. Moore will be less than thrilled when Kreizler
sends him out to sketch the grisly crime scene where a murdered boy prostitute
was found, but he does it anyway. Kreizler is convinced the killer has struck
before, but the uniformed officers are either paid to look the other way or too
callous to care.
They
both have shared history with TR, but that will only get them so far. Moore
also had some prior dealings with Roosevelt’s stereotype-challenging assistant
Sara Howard, but that was all quite unfortunate. Nevertheless, the three will
become the brain-trust of a semi-official task force, rounded out by Sergeants
Marcus and Lucius Isaacson, who are not well-liked on the force, due to their
modern investigative techniques (as well as the fact they are Jewish). Howard
will report their findings directly to Roosevelt, because Captain Connor is
transparently corrupt and quite possibly complicit in the murders, at least to
some extent.
Based
on the first two episodes, will feel confident saying The Alienist is a prime
example of the importance of casting. As Connor, David Wilmot is already a bad
guy we love to hate and the great Ted Levine promises even greater scenery-chewing
villainy as his predecessor, Thomas Byrnes. The three primary leads, Daniel Brühl,
Dakota Fanning, and Luke Evans are also bang-on target.
In
fact, Kreizler could very well be the breakout role Brühl has struggled to find
after Inglorious Basterds led to
predictions he would be the next big thing. He really has the right blend of
twitchiness and arrogance. Evans keeps his jaw squared as Moore, while Fanning
is strong but sensitive as Howard. Only Brian Geraghty seems off-the-mark,
coming across rather passive and milquetoast as TR (who was nobody’s shrinking
violet).