It's been some years since I've read the novels, but I was amazed at this series's adherence to them. Patrick's surreal, ultra intoxication in New York, where he comes to reclaim his dead father, is recaptured brilliantly, thanks considerably to Benedict Cumberbatch's excellent portrayal of the title character, a man who has tried to deal with the extended sexual abuse his father inflicted on him (this, I seem to recall, was given less emphasis in the novel than here), resulting in years of drug and alcohol abuse. Only toward the end of the series does Patrick come to terms with all this, a climax initiated by his mother's death and that of his father's best friend, an upper class viper well-played by by Pip Torrens. If anything, the series successfully shows the social milieu Patrick was raised in, a world whose denizens felt their social status allowed them to, like Patrick's father, indulge in whatever they wanted to.
Review of Patrick Melrose
