Servant
THE SERVANT - APPLETV+
There is no denying that creator and showrunner Tony Basgallop presents an oddly fascinating premise in Servant. The Apple TV+ original series focuses on a sequence of inexplicably strange events happening after married couple, Sean (Toby Kebbell) and Dorothy Turner (Lauren Ambrose), hire a young mysterious nanny named Leanne (Neil Tiger Free) to take care of baby Jericho, who is actually a doll.
While the long-form television format in such a small-scale is questionable as a premise, it is interesting to uncover what lies ahead in the overall vision of the series. However, for its entire season consisting of ten thirty-minute episodes, it is unfortunate to reveal that there is little material the show dives into, producing lacklustre results.
It is an agonisingly frustrating watch, to say the least, not only due to its thin narrative, but also slow pace, stretching out two hours’ content to an annoying five. Rather than prying the body open and examining it, Basgallop spends the majority of the time poking at the surface of its central mystery. He sometimes explores the same area all too repetitively, which only results to more unanswered questions raised to keep the audiences invested. Numerous creepy moments fail to lead to more intrigue, and the writers cannot communicate the purpose of these scenes in the grand scheme of the show, feeling hollow and dull.
None of the characters are likeable, worth rooting for or even rational; one character declares that he is going to the doctor for an unknown condition, and yet he never does. A guest has been causing indifference within the house, but the characters let them stay claiming that “not all families are normal.” Indeed, one character secretly serves a baby’s placenta for their guests – rinse and repeat with small irrelevant and unfilled arcs alike. Subplots like these are infuriating and unbelievable within the central premise. The seriesloses its audience quickly and begins to throw in flat scares to rectify its viewers’ flatline. Despite the cast’sbest efforts in character portrayal, the roles still appear uncannily and obscurely written to the general audience.
Critics and viewers have complained that this is M. Night Shyamalan’s doing. The infamous director has the most interesting filmography, in which most people agree that it started so high, but has come down so low, after a notable number of notorious misfires that any project he is involved is cautiously approached. Without being the central problem, Shyamalan is responsible for the overall technical design of the series, instead of the writing aspect. The first episode for instance, in which he helms, opens with dread and tension oozing in its atmosphere.
The season takes place in the Turner household mostly, and the single location setting adds an amount of claustrophobia with Trevor Gileckis’ score increasing anxiety . The shot selection from cinematographer Mike Gioulakis compliments Servant’s ominous atmosphere with the camera moving around rooms as a dolly and focusing on an inanimate object to transition into another scene. Byplainly zooming into a subject in extreme close-ups,uncomfortable reactions are amplified.
It is only in the final stretch that Servant begins to unravel and new ideas are being introduced. Although still left ambiguous with a cliffhanger – that is sure to alienate viewers further – these elements come as close to hooking its audiences as the show can fathom – giving them a savoury whiff that makes them want more. If only the writing was as impressive as the filmmaking, this would have been the centre of attention in Apple’s streaming service. Alas, the wait continues!
THE SERVANT is streaming exclusively on AppleTV+
