PATRICK MELROSE
UK, 2018, 5X50 minutes, Colour.
Benedict Cumberbatch, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hugo Weaving, Jessica Raine, Sébastian Maltz, Prasanna Puwanarajah, Pip Torrens, Indira Varma, Gary Beadle, Blythe Danner, Morfydd Clark, Celia Imrie, Holliday Grainger, James Fleet, Harriet Walter, Marcus Smith, Dainton Anderson, Elisabeth Berrington, Hippolyte Girardot, Irene Jacob.
Directed by Edward Berger.
Patrick Melrose is a five-part television series based on novellas by Edward St Aubyn, adapted for the screen by David Nichols, directed by the German Edward Berger. The novellas are based on the personal life of the novelist.
There are five episodes but not in chronological order. The first is set in 1983, then moving back to 1967, onto 1990, 2003, 2005. The title role is played by Benedict Cumberbatch, once again showing his range and versatility, having to age 23 to 46. Sébastian Maltz is very impressive as Patrick Is a Little boy. Hugo Weaving is the father, David Melrose, ultimately an embodiment of evil. Patrick spends his life trying to extricate himself from the malevolent influence of his father’s attitudes. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays his American mother, herself unable to move from the dominating power of the husband except to escape into charitable work and absence from home, professing to love her son, but actually abandoning him, something he long presents as well.
In the first episode, there is an introduction to Patrick, finding him a drug-addled young man, out of control, supported in friendship by his fellow-addict, Johnny (Prasana Puwanarajar). Patrick receives the news of the death of his father, instigating a number of flashbacks to his life as a boy, especially at their holiday mansion (owned by his mother’s family) in southern France. He travels to New York by plane, something of a nightmare flight, settling into a hotel with some arrogance, going to the morgue and being directed to the wrong room, a party celebration. He is in a relationship with Debbie at home and talks about reform. However, he lacks control, collapses, goes on the prowl to underpasses in New York City to get drugs, collapses and finally gets back to England and John and his care.
The flashbacks are powerful, the bad impression of David Melrose, the background of his music, his father’s dominance and wanting him to be a doctor, his studies for medicine, but not having to practice because of his marrying a wealthy wife. He is harsh, cynical, rude to people. Patrick is in fear of him – and later episodes revealed why.
In the 1960s, the family is on holiday again, Eleanor Melrose goes to the airport with a friend from America who is visiting with her scholarly husband, taking a detour to a theme park, the OK Corral, momentarily stranded on a Ferris wheel, hurrying to the airport to meet Nicholas, a close friend of David, Patrick’s godfather (Pip Torrens), also cynical, sardonic and superior. He has brought along a young woman, Bridgid (Holliday Grainger) who is more interested in a friend who is a member of a band. The dinner is very tense, Eleanor’s friend being very straightforward in her comments to David, leaving the table, encountering Patrick, talking with him, promising to bring his mother. However, David controls the table, controls Eleanor and she does not go. Which means that Patrick spends a long time alone, wandering the grounds, looking down a deep well.
There is a significant day for Patrick, his mother promising to come back and urging him to stay with his father. David is extremely stern towards his son, making demands, telling him about his theory of bringing up children, that if they can survive their childhood and its difficulties, they can survive anything. There are intimations of sexual abuse.
However, by the 1990s, Patrick has survived, studying law, going to groups, not wanting to attend a lavish party hosted by Brigid from the past, but urged by Johnny who is participating in groups of therapy. The guest of honour for the party is Princess Margaret, Harriet Walter doing quite a caustic impersonation, the princess becoming very dominating, intolerant of people, and rude to Bridget’s daughter. Bridget also becomes aware that her husband is unfaithful to her and, towards the end of the party, leaves with her daughter. Her mother had also come, but Bridget, desperately wanting to be upwardly mobile, urges her mother to go out for the meal and return afterwards. Patrick sits through the meal, observing? There is a scene where the French ambassador spills some sauce on Princess Margaret, her demanding that he clean it, the ambassador’s wife leaving angrily – and Hippolyte Girardot and Irene Jacob playing the French couple.
Patrick is partially recovered, friendly with John was in a relationship with Debbie? Patrick is very awkward in manner of the party, observing, encountering a friend, Julia, and having sexual experience with her and then breaking it off? Patrick also takes the opportunity, courageously and fearfully, to explain to Johnny the nature of the sexual abuse – which is dramatised powerfully in flashbacks. However, at the end, he encounters a young woman, genial, Mary.
In 2003, he is married to Mary, has two sons, they were on holidays in the south of France at the mansion. There are also many memories in flashbacks during this episode. However, his mother has returned, she is old and feeble, has invited enthusiasts for her courses to stay in the house and prepares a will leaving everything to them. Patrick does his best, angrily, to find ways of annulling the will. However, she ultimately signs it. Seamus, an Irishman is the main character bonded to Eleanor but too busy writing his book to visit her when she is sick. Mary’s mother, played by Celia Imrie, also visits and becomes involved with the group. Julia also arrives, working on a divorce, bringing her daughter Lucy who is meant to play with the boys. Patrick waits outside her room at night but is caught by one of his sons, yet continues the affair.
Patrick is smouldering, drinking again, on some drugs medication but wanting more, breaking with Julia, Mary knowing what has happened, deciding to break with Patrick and taking the boys away.
Eleanor dies in 2005. This is the final episode, Patrick’s attempts to free himself from the influence of his father, to free himself from his mother. One of the factors in this episode is that Eleanor wants to die, is incapacitated, in an institution, asks for Patrick to help her with her suicide, his making inquiries of organisations, his arranging for her to go to Switzerland – but she reneges.
Patrick has to organise the funeral and relies on Mary, a strange protest of loving him. He also has the support of Johnny and members of the groups. Julia comes to the funeral and they reminisce about their affair. At the funeral, the members of the community to whom Eleanor left her house and wealth, to take over giving eulogistic and romantic speeches. Mary does the reading from I Corinthians and Nicholas, who was present, is cynical, trotting out the same texts. Patrick attempts to speak but has an outburst about his mother, leaves the church and goes for a walk.
There is a lavish reception, Patrick feeling quite uncomfortable, Mary being the first. Again, members of the community present with some abrasive manners, a woman interrogating people about their mental illness, especially pressing with Nicholas who denounces her but collapses and is taken away by ambulance, later dying.
Patrick goes back to his apartment to be by himself and to try to cope with his loss. Most significant, he has a flashback to his father, imagining a different scenario, that he had stood up to his father, defying him in the face of the abuse. This might have made such a difference to his life. His mother dead, his coping with his father, coming to terms with his life and career as well as his family, the audience is left to speculate about Patrick Melrose’s future.
