{"id":30445,"date":"2023-02-23T18:00:18","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T17:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1789335"},"modified":"2023-02-23T18:46:03","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T17:46:03","slug":"the-consultant-review-christoph-waltz-chills-in-brilliantly-absurd-thriller","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-consultant-review-christoph-waltz-chills-in-brilliantly-absurd-thriller\/","title":{"rendered":"The Consultant review: Christoph Waltz chills in brilliantly absurd thriller"},"content":{"rendered":"

The best thing about this well-paced comedy-thriller is how utterly ludicrous it is. <\/p>

By James Hibbs\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 23 February 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Watching The Consultant<\/a> made me think of Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s Punch-Drunk Love. Don\u2019t get me wrong, the two projects are nothing alike, they\u2019re completely different in every way you look at them.<\/p>\n

However, watching Prime Video<\/a>\u2018s new comedy-thriller, the casting of Christoph Waltz in the central role proved immediately reminiscent of how canny Anderson had been in casting Adam Sandler in that film.<\/p>\n

He saw that Sandler\u2019s deranged comic performances in films such as Billy Madison could be turned on a dime to be unsettling, and that his brand of humour perfectly represented the well-known adage that horror and comedy are two sides of the same coin.<\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s not that Waltz, known for his terrifying presence, hasn\u2019t done comedy before. His performances in both Django Unchained and Inglourious Basterds both had darkly comedic edges to them, and of course who can forget Horrible Bosses 2? Wait, everyone?<\/p>\n

But in spite of these turns laced with comedy, this feels like the funniest he\u2019s been and the first time we\u2019ve seen the perfect blend of his talents. Waltz is playing his role in The Consultant completely straight and it\u2019s not that he suddenly breaks out of this to give some quippy retort.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that he is both chilling and hilarious simultaneously. Everything he does can be viewed through both lenses, just like Sandler\u2019s work in Punch-Drunk Love.<\/p>\n

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Christoph Waltz as Regus Patoff in The Consultant.<\/span><\/figcaption> Michael Desmond\/Prime Video<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

So Waltz is utterly excellent here\u2026 but you knew that already. What of the show as a whole?<\/p>\n

The Consultant is Prime Video\u2019s new somewhat under-the-radar comedy-thriller, arriving without much fanfare despite its killer central casting and behind-the scenes talent (the first episode is directed by WandaVision\u2019s Matt Shakman<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Waltz stars as Regus Patoff, a mysterious consultant who is hired to improve the business at app-based gaming company CompWare. However, his mysterious background, unnerving behaviour and extreme demands soon turn the lives of CompWare\u2019s employees, most notably Craig (Nat Wolff) and Elaine (Brittany O\u2019Grady), upside down.<\/p>\n

First things first, I had a blast with The Consultant, with the first reason being its run time \u2013 the series is a brisk, economically-paced affair, with eight easily digestible half-hour episodes meaning, for the most part, it lives up to the idea of \u2018all killer, no filler\u2019. It may be a commonplace format for sitcoms, but this reminds you why more TV should be crafted this way.<\/p>\n

Next is the supporting cast. Nat Wolff and Brittany O\u2019Grady prove to be a likeable, engaging duo, with terrific chemistry. Wolff\u2019s Craig in particular is put through the wringer, and he manages to bring to life a character who is intelligent but lazy, emotional but snarky and deeply self-centred, and still make us root for him.<\/p>\n

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Brittany O\u2019Grady and Nat Wolff in The Consultant.<\/span><\/figcaption> Michael Desmond\/Prime Video<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Meanwhile, O\u2019Grady carries most of the show\u2019s emotional weight as the one consistently trying to keep the ship together. She goes on quite the journey, but thanks to a fine performance her later actions do still track with the character O\u2019Grady has built.<\/p>\n

Like Waltz, the pair play everything completely straight and the show is all the better for it. In fact, I can imagine viewers going into this show thinking of it as a thriller, watching the entire run, and still being none-the-wiser about the comedy part.<\/p>\n

This wouldn\u2019t necessarily ruin the experience, but watching it this way would be to miss most of what makes it special. Sure, the early shocks are thrilling, the confrontations between Patoff and the employees are tense and it does generally keep you on your toes.<\/p>\n

But I have no qualms about saying that the ending does leave something to be desired when it comes to pay-off. If you went into this series purely for the suspense and the puzzle at the centre of it, you may walk away feeling somewhat short-changed.<\/p>\n

This is to the show\u2019s detriment, of course it is, but because of the surprising tone, the fast pace and the consistently entertaining energy, for me it didn\u2019t prove to be its downfall.<\/p>\n

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Nat Wolff and Christoph Waltz in The Consultant.<\/span><\/figcaption> Courtesy of Prime Video<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

What makes this series special is how truly, spectacularly wild it is. The whole thing is absolutely ridiculous, from the opening shock-factor gambit to the cackle-worthy final credits (seriously, stick around for them).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a series filled with jokes, just an overriding preposterousness which makes even the darkest sequences or the smallest of Waltz\u2019s mannerisms amusing.<\/p>\n

If you spend the entire run trying to piece things together, you\u2019re doing it wrong. Equally, if you\u2019re here for the corporate satire (and don\u2019t get me wrong, there is plenty of it \u2013 the whole consultancy profession gets a serious drubbing), then you\u2019re doing it wrong.<\/p>\n

This show is at its best when you let it show its cards in its own time, and then laugh at the sheer brazenness of it holding up six Jacks.<\/p>\n

That might not be for everyone. But with episodes this bite-sized, a cast this charming and a central performance this captivating, you really can\u2019t go wrong with giving the first episode a go and judging your appetite for the tone.<\/p>

In the stacked history of workplace-centred shows, The Consultant may not be intricately crafted on the level of Severance or uproarious on the level of The Office \u2013 but the sheer ridiculousness of it won me over fast.<\/p>\n

You may find yourself wondering why CompWare\u2019s staff stick around despite Patoff\u2019s treatment of them, but if you\u2019re anything like me, you\u2019ll be sticking around too, just to see what this absurd series has up its sleeve next.<\/p>