Tom Holland stars in Apple TV's new series “The Crowded Room”, a layered psychological thriller that follows one man as he finds himself in deep trouble with the law. Holland leads a talented cast that includes Amanda Seyfried, “Shameless” star Emmy Rossum, Sasha Lane, and Tony nominee Will Chase. Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman serves as creator and head writer for the series, basing it off of Billy Milligan, a man whose story was the subject of Daniel Keyes’ novel “The Minds of Billy Milligan”. Milligan became the first person to be found not guilty by reason of insanity, due to him being diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder(DID), with his lawyers arguing his alters committed the crimes he was accused of.
While “The Crowded Room” makes a habit of jumping between the past and present, the series does provide audiences with a seemingly easy to follow storyline. After trying to attack his step-father (Will Chase) with a gun in the middle of Rockefeller centre, Danny (Holland) lands himself in trouble with the law. Once arrested, Danny begins exhibiting unusual behaviour which prompts the authorities to reach out to psychology professor Rya Goodwin (Amanda Seyfried). What follows over ten episodes is a winding, complex affair that takes audiences on a sprawling journey through one man’s life as he attempts to come to terms with his actions and the reasons behind them.
Despite “The Crowded Room” having a promising premise that could’ve easily become one of the better TV series of 2023, sluggish, uneven storytelling can’t help but hinder the series from reaching its full potential. The first half of the series, while giving audiences a background on Danny and how he came to be in prison, doesn’t draw you in as much as you would’ve hoped. The build up to the reveal of Danny’s multiple personalities comes halfway through the series after what almost feels like fives filler episodes to try to give audiences an insight into Danny’s life and how he landed himself in prison. Although it may take a while for the true narrative of the series to be revealed, once Danny’s condition is made known the series takes a turn for the better as it gives viewers something to sink their teeth into and actually get invested in. However, the improvement that comes after five episodes doesn’t make up for rocky storytelling throughout the series. The jumping between past and present isn’t the most easy to follow, and some of the narrative choices (i.e. Danny going to London after trying to attack his stepfather) don't fully make sense until Danny’s DID is revealed. These then end up hindering the performances given by the cast. For example, Amanda Seyfried’s character seems to be more or less confined to a dingy interview room for the first half of the series, stuck in a back and forth with Holland’s character as she tries to get to the truth and reasoning behind his actions
The series does explain Danny’s struggle with his DID in a way that helps audiences to understand how his mind works, with many of Danny’s friends seen in the first half of the series being revealed as alters who only exist in his mind and were never real people. “The Crowded Room” further explains how the disorder works by showing the alters interacting with each other in an abandoned barn, which is supposed to represent Danny’s mind. This physical representation of DID helps audiences to understand how the disorder works, giving them an insight into the way the sufferer’s brain works. “The Crowded Room” dives into the stigma and questions surrounding a diagnosis like this during the 1970s, when the series takes place as it still wasn’t officially recognised nor taken seriously by medical professionals.
Despite the issues with the series’ storytelling abilities, the entire cast manage to draw out stellar performances from the uneven material they were given to work with. Tom Holland delivers a terrific performance across the ten episodes that is a stark contrast to his happy-go-lucky portrayal of Peter Parker the British actor is most known for. He skillfully dives into every aspect of the character of Danny Sullivan, delivering a performance soaked in complexity that especially shines in the latter half of the series. Holland manages to effectively distinguish between Danny’s numerous alters by changing his body language, as well as his accent. For example, Holland gets to use his native London accent when portraying Jack, one of Danny’s alters. Amanda Seyfried also delivers a strong performance opposite her British co-star, even if in the first half of the series her character feels like she’s only there to propel the story forward. The rest of the cast all put in a solid performance as they try to do the best with the material they’ve been given, but despite only appearing in the latter half of the series, Christopher Abbott puts in a compelling performance as Stan, Danny’s lawyer. Abbott delivers superb performance, especially in the courtroom scenes, like in the final episode where Stan puts Danny (who is actually presenting as his alter Jack) on the stand and the two face-off in the fight for Danny’s innocence.
Overall, “The Crowded Room” is a series that suffers from its poor storytelling choices which in turn hinders the cast’s ability to reach their full potential. Tom Holland leads a cast that ends up being failed by a patchy script and the sluggish pace of the series. The series forces audiences to sit through episodes that border on feeling like filler episodes and doesn’t get interesting until the true version of events surrounding Danny’s life and his arrest is revealed to. However, “The Crowded Room” benefits from the performances given by it’s brilliant cast and manages to make its last few episodes much more enjoyable to watch than those in the first half of the series.