The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey TV Review

Plot: Suddenly left without his trusted caretaker, Ptolemy Grey is assigned to the care of an orphaned teenager, Robyn. When they learn about a treatment that will restore Ptolemy’s memories, it begins a journey towards shocking truths.

Review: Stories about mental illness, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia make for solid drama on screen. Couple that with a mystery from one of the greatest writers alive and you have the makings of what should be a classic. The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, adapted by Walter Mosley from his own novel, is a powerful exercise in acting from the legendary Samuel L. Jackson. Playing a man losing, regaining, and then losing his memories while also channeling his life over various decades earns comparisons to films like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Anthony Hopkins’ Oscar-winning The Father. Ultimately, as well-intentioned as this series is, it moves too slowly and never really makes a solid case for the central mystery. Yet, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is still a fascinating watch.

Set over six episodes, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is directed by Ramin Bahrani (99 Homes, The White Tiger) who brings a shifting visual style that emulates the disintegrating mental state of Ptolemy Grey. In his 90s, Ptolemy is portrayed by the seventy-three-year-old Jackson under heavy prosthetics. Ptolemy lives alone in his apartment where his nephew Reggie (Omar Benson Miller) visits regularly to take care of his needs. When Reggie is no longer able to care for Ptolemy, the daughter of a family friend, Robyn (Dominique Fishback), steps in to help the old man. In the early episodes, Jackson wanders around his apartment in a daze, alternating between being cognisant of his surroundings and the next minute completely unaware of the passage of time. He sees visions of his deceased wife Sensia (Cynthia McWilliams) and Coydog (Damon Gupton) whose presence pulls Ptolemy out of the present and into his life’s past.

Where the unique twist in this series comes about is the introduction of Dr. Rubin (Walton Goggins) who offers Ptolemy a deal with the devil: undergo an experimental procedure and get all of his faculties and memories back but shorten his life to mere days. As the title alludes, Ptolemy’s decision leads him to reflect on his life while also trying to discover the culprit who murdered Reggie. With Robyn along to assist him, Ptolemy serves as an amateur detective. Both Fishback and Jackson are excellent in this series and bring the highest caliber their talents have to offer, but it can only do so much as the series takes a meandering path over the half dozen chapters. What works very well is the acting of the two leads who make for a convincing May-September romance although not in the traditional sense. It also helps that Jackson truly evokes the heartache of a man losing his memories and control of his mind which propels this slightly overlong series.

What doesn’t quite work here is the overly sentimental nature of the story. There are a lot of scenes that are hard to watch, especially when the story flashes back to Ptolemy remembering the lynching of Coydog. These scenes lend themselves to a subplot in the series that runs parallel to the murder of Reggie, and both work as redemption arcs for Ptolemy and Robyn, respectively. Dementia is not an easy thing to live with, for the person suffering or their family members, and often times this series edges into melodrama as Ptolemy cannot remember the basic things he needs to do. Robyn coming in and saving his life by cleaning his apartment and taking care of him feel like filler moments through the series. Had Walter Mosley trimmed this down to three or four episodes, it likely would have made for a taught and more engaging series.

Many moments through The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey are redundant and repetitive and could easily have been excised. But, there is far more here that will strike viewers with the sheer anxiety and discomfort of losing your mind. Director Ramin Bahrani uses soft focus, sharp edits, and disappearing characters to make many moments feel like a ghost story which in many ways this is. The score by Craig DeLeon also amplifies the changes that have occurred over Ptolemy’s nine decades of life. There is a blend of classical, jazz, and hip-hop throughout that works to make this series feel relevant and distant at the same time.

While two episodes too long, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is a heart-wrenching look at facing one’s own death and personal demons while losing touch with reality. The closer Ptolemy gets to his final breaths, this series becomes more focused and emotionally challenging to experience. There is more good in this series than bad, but the episodic structure will leave many bored as they wait week to week to find out what happens. Luckily, as a limited series, you won’t have to wait too long. At the very least, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey serves as one of Samuel L. Jackson’s finest performances and another example of why Dominique Fishback needs more leading roles.

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey premieres on March 11th on AppleTV+.

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

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