-Brian Mendonca
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| Naomi Watts in Gypsy There is one force more powerful than free will - our unconscious. -Voiceover, E1 |
I liked the serial because it is pacy. And I thought it would be a good way to celebrate the 4th of July - the independence day of the US of A. Gypsy (2017) is set in Connecticut, USA.
I was sucked into its vortex by the bravura performance of Naomi Watts who plays a therapist in New York called Jean Holloway. The Ph.D. is added as well on her nameplate on the door.
It's a story that is homegrown, meaning that Jean is a 'regular' housewife, at least for now. But Jean has many aliases/personas in the serial. One of them is 'Diane' Hart (Die-ann) - a journalist.
Slowly the viewer gets immersed into her life and we understand her motives and her behaviour. The characters are developed well and though they evolve, their behaviour is consistent with their current thinking.
As Jean begins to explore her needs she finds herself on dangerous ground. She tries to cover things up but one lie leads to another. At the end of S1 you begin to wonder why you admired her in the first place.
Jean's transition is aided by her induction into a commune 'where there are no secrets.' One ritual is that once they have all gathered for a meal, all the phones - which have been placed earlier in a basket - are brought to the table. Then the basket is passed around and each person picks any phone and reads the last message. Predictably Jean's gets picked and the last message is, 'Get the **** out of my life.' Jean explains it away saying it was from Allison - a client of hers in therapy who was blocking her efforts to help her.
This is in admirable counterpoint to the serial itself where all the liaisons develop through text messages. Our lives are ruled by our phones. And when honesty falters, it becomes necessary to put a passcode on your phone. But when you pass out and you need help, it will be difficult for anyone to call someone you know from your phone - unless s/he has the passcode.
But Jean is no saint. Gradually we see her becoming more manipulative as she nurses her obsession. Telling her sister that she was always wearing her bracelet when she was not is so deja vu. (E10)
Jean tries to juggle family life, work and relationships. As her marriage teethers, hubby Michael takes off with his secretary on an official visit to Texas. A flat she has retained - paid for by the mother - allows her the freedom to live a double life.
As the season progresses the screenplay gets more sophisticated. The juxtaposition of the commune scenes with the 'boys' party' at her home makes it starkly clear that Jean and Michael are on totally different pages.(E5)
The serial is very well made. The editing is slick. The audio track as the camera pans into Jean's house at the start of E2 is the backstory of her life. I noticed it only when I saw the rerun.
One sees what a therapist has to go through. Listening to those who are in therapy can be emotionally very draining.
The last scene in the last episode (E10) would certainly give scope for Season 2. There is a lot of unfinished business in Season 1. The most outstanding question is 'Where is Allison?' What happens after Jean's speech at the end? Who really stole Alexis's manuscript? Why does Jean pass out?
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Gypsy. Netflix serial. 10 Episodes. Created by Lisa Rubin. Starring Naomi Watts, Billy Crudup, Sophie Cookson. 2017. Producer, Tim Bevan. Music, Jeff Beal. Cinematography, Bobby Bukowski. Updated 6/7/22
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