Once an actor is absorbed into a major franchise, it can be challenging for audiences to view them as anything beyond their masked identity. For many, Tom Holland will always be seen as our friendly neighborhood webbed-up supe Spider-Man. Still, it’s nice to see actors reaching for roles outside of their perceived norm, and Holland’s portrayal of Danny Sullivan in Apple TV+’s The Crowded Room is a prime example of that.
The Crowded Room opens with Danny and Ariana (Sasha Lane; How to Blow Up a Pipeline) on the subway until they arrive at Rockefeller Center, where they commit a shooting. Danny is arrested, and Ariana is in the wind. For some reason, Officer Matty Dun (Thomas Sadoski; Devotion), the cop in charge of the investigation, thinks Danny might be a serial killer and brings in Professor Rya Goodwin (Amanda Seyfried; The Dropout) to investigate.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
Set in the late 70s, The Crowded Room is inspired by Daniel Keyes’ novel “The Minds of Billy Milligan,” the first defendant found not guilty due to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). You might think this unveils a big plot twist, but it doesn’t. Although showrunners might have intended for there to be a big mystery in the series, the way the series is set up, there isn’t anything to be uncovered from the audience’s perspective. This might’ve been why audiences were a tad confused while watching.
From the trailer, The Crowded Room presents as a series embedded with twists and turns that’ll make you question the events on screen. But the story reveals itself within the pilot. It’s very transparent from episode one that some of the people we see aren’t actually present. The series is less about what’s going on with Danny and more about Danny’s journey to uncover the truth for himself. This is where the series gains most of its success.
The slow build isn’t the twist that Danny suffers from DID but rather the path that Seyfried takes him on until he arrives at that realization for himself. Unfortunately, the path is long and tedious. In fact, by the time we get to trial, the series lacks in giving us the courtroom drama we’ve been waiting for. Knowing Danny has several alters, we hardly get to see them emulated from Holland in a way that elevates the show’s depth.
Holland’s ability to embody these different personalities can’t be denied.
Uncovering what haven each alter provides for Danny was impactful—understanding which alter was created and why was very interesting. Ariana was created as the keeper of Danny’s loneliness and fear, to take action when he couldn’t resolve feelings.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
Yitzhak (Lior Raz; A Body That Works) was his protector, his strength. Jack (Jason Isaacs; Mass) provided fatherly love. Mike (Sam Vartholomeos) was his social skills, confidence, and cool. Jonny (Levon Hawke) acts as his survival and uninhibited desire to take care of himself by any means necessary.
Normally, I wouldn’t cheer for a shorter series, but six tight episodes would’ve packed a bigger punch than drawing out the story for ten episodes. It’s the latter half of the series that holds you to the end, largely due to Seyfriend and Holland’s dynamic.
Once you go beyond the mystery, the series pulls you into Danny’s story. A young man trying to cope with a traumatic past. In the end, audiences are left to discern whether this is a thriller or a true crime drama which creates pause when trying to identify parts of the series that actually work.
They’re all trying to save him at a time when he felt he couldn’t save himself.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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