The Knick

If you’re the squeamish-type, you’ll want to look away now. The Knick will have you curled up in the foetal position.

But that’s how medicine was back in 1900s New York: bloody, rudimentary and sometimes experimental. And that’s how it is at the Knickerbocker Hospital, as depicted by director Steven Soderbergh in the 10 part series from Cinemax (a division of HBO).

Dr. John Thackery (Clive Owen) is promoted to head surgeon following the sudden death of his mentor Dr. J. M. Christiansen (Matt Frewer) in controversial circumstances. Thackery leads a team of surgeons at a hospital with a reputation for pushing the bounds of medicine and attaining societal respect.

The Knick has the backing of wealthy philanthropists, but social welfare officer Cornelia Robertson (Juliet Rylance) wields power over its board and threatens the family purse strings if she does not get her way. One of her directives is that Thackery hire black surgeon Dr. Algernon Edwards (Andre Holland) -a move he objects for fear of racial tension overriding patient care.

Thackery and Edwards are both skilled, intelligent men but respect is fleeting. This social conflict serves as one of the show’s underlying themes.

But there are other colourful characters in the cast, including bent ambulance driver Tom Cleary (Chris Sullivan) who stoops to all kinds of moral lows because every patient delivered is worth money to him (he is perhaps the definition of ‘ambulance chaser’). Similarly, the hospital administrator Herman Barrow (Jeremy Bobb) has racked up debts trying to keep the hospital afloat. The latest expensive scheme to electrify the building leads to a faulty system with catastrophic results -and to standover tactics to finance it.

There is also the heart-of-gold young country nurse Lucy Elkins (Eve Hewson) and the fearless nun Sister Harriet (Cara Seymour).

But it is Thackery who drives these storylines as the brilliant and eloquent surgeon who also suffers from a cocaine addiction. His dirty little secret sort of makes him a turn of the century Nurse Jackie, but nurse Lucy will become privy to his dark side.

In the middle of it all are extreme medical cases where the medical fraternity watch on, literally from the benches, as modern medicine emerges -but not without blood spilled in the name of science and sometimes lives lost in the process.

Clive Owen (also a series producer) stands tall in this enigmatic role, showing off the theatrics with some scenery-chewing speeches from writers Jack Amiel & Michael Begler. Andre Holland matches him perfectly as the refined European surgeon facing racial ignorance.

In Soderbergh’s hands -he directed all 10 episodes- this hangs together extremely well as yet another cable period piece for modern audiences: there are splendid costumes, visual gore and classy performances, complemented by an electronic soundtrack by Cliff Martinez that reminded me of Jean Michel Jarre.

The Knick is an intelligent treat during the silly season. Just be ready to watch some of this one through your fingers.

The Knick premieres 8pm tonight on Showcase (all subsequent episodes will air at 7.30pm).