The Alienist
2018
Original language: English
- drama
- crime
- mystery
The story
New York, 1896. Police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt brings together criminal psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, newspaper illustrator John Moore and secretary Sara Howard to investigate several murders of male prostitutes.
What it’s like
Gaslit 1896 New York rendered in murky amber and tobacco-brown, with fog-soaked streets, sooty tenement interiors and candlelit parlors that feel cramped with secrets. The camera drifts through crowded streets and slow, ominous tracking shots, then cuts to clinical, cold white light in autopsy rooms and police offices, so the city alternates between warmth and clinical unease. Scoring is restrained: low strings and sparse piano that swell under dread rather than thriller stingers. Its vibe is brooding, methodical and sober, suited to a late-night binge with the lights down or a slow weekend when you want atmosphere over action. Pacing is deliberate and the investigation unfolds through conversation, sketches, and records more than chases. The emotional register is melancholy and tense, with arcs about trust forming slowly between an unlikely team and about damaged people confronting the past. Violence is present and grim: murders are shown with real brutality and bodies are depicted, along with some sexual content, drug use and scenes of abuse, all of it heavy rather than gratuitous. Best for viewers who like period crime with psychological depth and don't mind dark, disturbing material.
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