Ratched: Season 1
Ratings: 3.5/5
Directors: Ryan Murphy, Nelson Cragg, Michael Uppendahl, Jessica Yu, Jennifer Lynch, Daniel Minahan
Producers: Paul Zaentz, Todd Nenninger, Eric Kovtun, Lou Eyrich, Eryn Krueger Mekas, Sara Stelwagen, Tanase Popa
Genre: Psychological Thriller Drama
Language: English
Release Date: 18 September 2020
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Star Cast: Sarah Paulson, Finn Wittrock, Judy Davis, Sharone Stone, Cynthia Nixon, Jon Jon Briones, Charlie Carver
Plot: When Edmund Tolleson (Finn Wittrock) murders four priests in the year 1947, he is arrested and sent to Lucia State Hospital. Mildred Ratched (Sarah Paulson), who introduces herself as a nurse, schemes her way to join the mental hospital that is run by Dr. Hanover (Jon Jon Briones). But Mildred has to fulfill her deep-down intentions implying her manipulative measures and is ready to shed some blood if she must.
Review: A palatial mental institution of the late ‘40s, busy experimenting with a few gruesome ways of curing its patients which were considered the newest discoveries of science and psychology back then, and have ruined more minds than it fixed. ‘Ratched’ however, is more of a fiction than facts! A period drama that dates back to the era when homosexuality was considered a disease and Dr. Hanover prescribes his hot and cold bath techniques to the head nurse Betsy Bucket (Judy Davis) to get her patients rid of the amorous thoughts about other women. And jumps in the ‘angel of mercy’ nurse Mildred, who, with her cunning mind helps those patients flee the hospital! But she’s more than just a merciful soul, but a woman with a devilish mind to manipulate her way to her destination.
Every episode of ‘Ratched’ opens with a note that the web-series is based on the novel ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest’ by Ken Kesey and Mildred’s persona has been built after ‘Nurse Ratched’ from the book. However, there are very few resemblances between the two, other than Mildred’s background and vocation. Her nightmarish childhood as an orphan, her desperation to free her brother Edmund who has received a death sentence for four bloody killings, her empathy towards her patients, yet her maneuvering nature - all combined, raise the inevitable question that who Mildred really is? As the story progresses, we come to find that all the characters are vulnerable and the devious Mildred is no exception.
The lavish setting, those pastel-hued frames wrapped in sex and violence - the series manages to go beyond becoming a camp art; and keeps you guessing, what’s next?
Sharon Stone’s portrayal as Mrs. Osgood, a wealthy heiress is not much of a stunner. Sarah Paulson does justice to her title role, but that one nurse who steals away all the spotlight is veteran actor Judy Davis as nurse Bucket. Her character attributes unfurl over the episodes and there is one such point when her turn of mind and performance surpass Paulson’s Ratched, feeding a rather rational point of view. Their contrasting mannerisms are a sheer screen delight.
The American web series, developed by Ryan Murphy falters on several occasions though. Each fatality, each individual story is too much eased-up to be convincing enough, in order to attain the resolution faster than it should. No matter how much attempt the makers have put in to present the intertwined tales persuasively, while watching, you wish each anecdote could have given more breathing space to bring them much closer to realism. Created by Evan Romansky, the series ends on a note where the equations alter. Characters change sides, colors, and you too now seem to get a ‘hero’ or a ‘shero to bank upon. Hints tell us, season 2 is going to be far more maddening having the artful sister and the wicked, absconding brother against each other. Bottomline - ‘Ratched’ ends up being a superficially entertaining thriller that you cannot ditch midway, it is a drug you must take in full course!
