Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Billy Wonka (A) on August 29, 2015 at 23:14:23

Who knew? A Knickerbocker Hospital in NYC around 1900. This is a pretty strange Cinemax series starring (producer) Clive Owen as a brilliant physician who is practicing some radical medicine for the day. Clive likes his cocaine and his whores and uses both to stay up all night.

It had somewhat of a ragged start but it gets better around epi4. There are plenty of offbeat characters littering the scenery and some of today's social dilemmas are worked into the story line.

The set, costumes, and art direction seem to be pretty spot on for the time but some of the cinematography lacks in spots. But, the procedures in surgery and treatments performed are historically accurate and often gut-wrenching.

Bizarrely, the soundtrack is ambient-electronic done by Cliff Martinez which really works well. No Ragtime for this 1900.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOXbU8TOZVM   (Open in New Window)