TV Review: Ratched starring Sarah Paulson

September 14th 2020, 10:00am

Plot: In 1947, Mildred Ratched arrives in Northern California to seek employment at a leading psychiatric hospital where new and unsettling experiments have begun on the human mind. On a clandestine mission, Mildred presents herself as the perfect image of what a dedicated nurse should be, but the wheels are always turning and as she begins to infiltrate the mental health care system and those within it, Mildred’s stylish exterior belies a growing darkness that has long been smoldering within, revealing that true monsters are made, not born.

Review: Ryan Murphy's expanding filmography continues on Netflix with Ratched, an inspired prequel to the iconic novel and film ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. With direction from Ryan Murphy (over the first episodes) and featuring his entourage of players led by the great Sarah Paulson, Ratched is the best thing Murphy has produced in years. Maybe it is because of the more serious tone of the material or maybe it is because Murphy is not as directly involved with the writing but Ratched is a pitch-perfect homage to the work of Alfred Hitchcock wrapped in a story that many never knew we needed.

Nurse Ratched, played brilliantly by Louise Fletcher in the iconic film, here is not quite the woman we saw tormenting Jack Nicholson's Randle McMurphy. Decades earlier, she is a nurse driven to get a job at a mental hospital on the picturesque coast of California. There, her ulterior motives quickly become clear as does the fact that while the title of this show may bear her name, this is truly an ensemble series. Like Murphy's previous Netflix series, Hollywood, this drama features colorblind casting that does not address the multi-ethnic and LGBTQ cast who play their roles without regard to race or sexuality. But, like any Ryan Murphy show, sexuality is a major element to the narrative.

Sarah Paulson, who has played every conceivable character under the sun, once again delivers here. While we see glimpses of the totalitarian she will eventually become, this Mildred Ratched is a layered character who can go from soft to calculating, controlling to passive, and every other emotion within a scene or an episode. She is the one who sets events into motion and moves the people around her like chess pieces. She has a final goal in mind and does not let any obstacle get in her way. Paulson is probably one of the few actresses who could pull this role off by making Mildred as uncomfortably relatable as Kathy Bates in MISERY and draws us in as we see what lurks under his beautiful veneer.

The rest of the cast is equal to the bar set by Paulson's performance in many different ways. Judy Davis is excellent as conniving Nurse Bucket and Jon Jon Briones is great as administrator Dr. Richard Hanover. Cynthia Nixon and Vincent D'Onofrio fit into the retro time period as Gwendolyn Briggs and Governor George Milburn, respectively. Amanda Plummer brings some levity as motel owner Louise and Finn Wittrock chews the scenery as murderer and hospital patient Edmund Tolleson. Supporting turns by Corey Stoll as Charles Wainwright and Sharon Stone as socialite Lenore Osgood add star power to the series while still playing in the pulpy noir style of the series.

Created by newcomer Evan Romansky, Ratched shares more in common with Murphy's series Nip/Tuck crossed with the Asylum season of American Horror Story. There is some dark humor here, but the series overall is far more dour and frightening that Murphy's Hollywood or The Politician. Of the eight episodes made available for review, multiple scenes of graphic violence appear through the series that reminded me of those earlier series which may be due to longtime Muprhy collaborator Ian Brennan responsible for writing most of this season. Visually, the color palette pops off the screen and the costume and set design are impeccable. The use of familiar musical cues from classic films helps the series feel steeped in the 1940s.

While not directly a prequel to ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, Ratched certainly provides a distinctive look at how the iconic title character became the way she was in that novel and film. Like last year's JOKER, this is a potential origin and should not be taken as canonical even though Oscar-winning producer Michael Douglas has a producer credit on this series. Had this series been titled anything else, it could be enjoyed as another season of American Horror Story or even an original creation of its own. If you are not a fan of Ryan Murphy's oeuvre, this series is not going to change your mind. But, if you like seeing talented actors populating a pulpy world of retro psychological noir, you will get a kick out of this series.

Ratched premieres September 18th on Netflix.