Apple TV’s “The Crowded Room” starring Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home) and Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia) is a psychological thriller that tackles aspects of mental health, mystery, crime and high drama. The ten episode mini series is created by Akiva Goldsman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “A Beautiful Mind” and inspired by the 1981 non-fiction novel “The Minds of Billy Milligan” by Daniel Keyes. The show which is loosely based on the book, chronicles the life and trial of Milligan, the first defendant to ever be found not guilty due to dissociative identity disorder.
With a supporting cast that includes Jason Isaacs, Emmy Rossum, Sasha Lane, Will Chase, Lior Raz, Laila Robins, and Henry Eikenberry. Holland also served as a producer on the show.
Despite it’s mixed reviews from critics, the show has garnered a following of loyal fans who have eagerly tuned in every week, until the series finale which aired on July 28 2023. The series follows Danny Sullivan (Holland) after he was arrested for his involvement in a New York City shooting in 1979. The show is an intense retelling of Danny’s life through a series of interviews with his doctor Rya Goodwin (Seyfried). Each episode slowly details to Rya, and the audience the events that led Danny to his arrest, while also digging deeper and deeper into his mysterious past. As Danny retrospectively examines his life, he comes to the conclusion that he is not alone, and with Rya’s help he begins to unravel the Alters (Alternate Personalities) in his mind, ultimately leading him to uncover a life-altering revelation.
“It’s about the audience learning about the condition of Danny’s mind. And it’s about Danny learning the condition of his mind. And Danny discovering that he’s fractured in that way. So, you know, I think it’s not hard to figure out pretty quickly. And then it’s supposed to be sort of fun to see who is and who isn’t a personality and how that plays out.” – Akiva Goldsman
The show relies heavily on it’s transitioning from past to present during Danny and Rya’s sessions after he has been arrested. Each episode leaves us with a massive revelation, almost always ending the episode on a cliffhanger that guarantees you will be back for more. Goldsman has written the series in such a way as to make every episode one thrilling mystery, and yet still seamlessly connect every episode with the other maintaining a sense of tension throughout the series.
Courtesy Apple TV+
The Crowded Room tackles very heavy subject matter such as mental health, drug use, sexual abuse, gun violence and more. It includes some pretty heavy scenes, but of course with those heavy scenes we saw some great acting and some emotional but well written and ecxecuted moments. During Danny’s interviews with Rya, his flashbacks, his sessions in court and down the line as more and more is revealed about Danny, things get more upsetting. The showrunner’s have handled the subject matter very well and respectfully. Holland spoke to Radiotimes about the responsibility they had in highlighting such subject matter on the show.
“I take everything really seriously, I understand the responsibility that we have as actors and creators, and now an executive producer – I can’t believe I get to say that, but I feel very honoured to be able to say that. The responsibility was heavy with this one, and we all took it very seriously. We did the work to make sure that we were all as well-versed in the subject matter as possible.”
The show does not simply just show us that Danny has Multiple Personality Disorder, instead we get to dive deep into each different Alter as if they were a character themself, and for a while on the show they are. In one episode, we relive different events of the past episodes, only this time, knowing the truth about Danny, we see exactly who was behind the wheel in his head and how things actually appeared. This happens in episode 8, which was one of the show’s best. This aspect of the show reminds one very much of the show “Mr Robot” by Sam Esmail. That right there is one of the smartest moves in The Crowded Room. Any general TV viewer who has not read the book will be blown away by the revelation of Danny’s Alters.
In the past we have seen Holland take on serious roles in his films such as “Cherry” and “The Devil All The Time”, but his best performance to date aside from the MCU would have to be in “The Crowded Room”. Holland really went above and beyond in his role, or roles in the show. In an interview with Variety he spoke about the emotional toll this performance had on him.
“It was a tough time, for sure, we were exploring certain emotions that I have definitely never experienced before. And then on top of that, being a producer, dealing with the day-to-day problems that come with any film set, just added that extra level of pressure.”
Goldsman with his writing and Holland and Seyfried with their performances do an incredible job of making us feel every single emotion their characters are experiencing throughout the story. Another standout performance in the show is Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter) who stars as Jack, as well as Sasha Lane (Loki) who acts as Ariana. However this is particulary true for Holland as he had to take on multiple roles. There are multiple scenes where he has the audiences hearts break for him during the show, and you can feel every ounce of pain and tradgedy that Danny Sullivan is going through. Holland is excellent in The Crowded Room. Delivering a powerful, emotional and intense performance, portraying 6 different personalities, and each performance is a brilliant one.
The story ends with a time jump to 2 years after his court case, on a somewhat peacuful note, giving Danny something he very much needs, closure. The series as a whole is really something special in the way it makes you feel for it’s characters and in general. Just goes to show you, you dont need a high rating to tell a good story.
Intense interviews, shocking plot twists, heartwrenching moments, a thrilling mystery and a crowded room. Both Holland’s performance and this unique story are something you shouldn’t miss.
Watch all episodes of The Crowded Room on Apple TV now.
Fangirl and Writer with a huge passion for entertainment.
