In Treatment, half an hour daily

In Treatment is a new HBO series following the network’s proud tradition of low-energy drama in the psychotherapist’s office. The show delves into the psyche of various characters including that of the main character, Paul, played by Gabriel Byrne. All players are experiencing especially traumatic events in their lifetime including, but not limited to, the accidental bombing of an Iraqi school, relationship troubles, and dream shattering debilitation. All of Paul’s patients are looking for answers in him he can’t find himself, and it all should make for some very interesting drama, however it doesn’t fully succeed.
The show’s appeal rests with its characters, the ways in which they act out and vocalize their frustrations and issues in Paul’s office are is the wheels of the series. The actors do a good job; Gabriel Byrne has worked his non-judgmental, analyst’s stare to a science, and others like Melissa George and Josh Charles stand out as particularly troubled shrinkees. The tone is constant, and its directed paying particular attention to an overall theme of inner turmoil. One scene involves him seeing his old work associate, Dianne Weist, for a professional opinion, and there is such palpable tension based on some unknown past event, that I felt like it was Clint and Eli Wallach staring each other down. The show is well-written and appropriately deep and revealing, sort of ignoring the inarticulateness and awkwardness inherent in relating your innermost difficulties to a complete stranger. And, perhaps it is over-indulging in long-winded explanations of inner feelings, but that’s the focus. And that’s the problem.
The thing that has made movies, shows, and books about psychoanalysis so engaging is that they were like modern day detective stories. The viewer would be in there with the analyst, searching for the one event in which Tony Soprano witnessed his father beat somebody mercilessly to explain why he is how he is today. Freudian sleuthing has even been merged with real detective stories in popular culture. Books like The Alienist and Silence of the Lambs will psychologically profile the killer in order to reveal his identity. Psychology has added a whole new layer to the who-done-it genre, not just the who and how, but why? Besides that indulgence by certain media, the profession has gotten very little love from our culture, it is constantly mocked and blamed for instigating the blame-the-mother-first movement. And the players in the show seem to follow our disdain for psychotherapy in that they aren’t seeking betterment, but someone to make up their mind for them. They want to know whether or not they should get an abortion, or whether or not they’re still worth something, and that’s ultimately what he seeks in treatment. Its treacherous ground right now, but it could culminate in a larger critique, and a more engaging one. But for now, the show’s gimmicky formula serves to garner non-viewer intrigue; the show itself is serving to remind us of why we don’t like the idea of therapy in the first place.