Name: The Lost Patient
Director: Christophe Charrier
Released: 2022-11-25T18:23:07

In ‘The Lost Patient’ or ‘Le Patient’, Thomas Grimaud wakes up after a three-year-long coma and tries to remember who tried to kill his entire family. The psychological thriller is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Three years ago, the Grimaud family was found murdered in cold blood. The parents, Betty (Audrey Dana) and Marc (Stephane Rideau), were both shot, while the son, Thomas (Txomin Vergez), had been stabbed with a knife, and fell into a state of comatose.

In the present day, Thomas is 19 and has woken up from the coma. Anna (Clotilde Hesme), a therapist, attempts to help him remember what exactly happened that night.

He slowly remembers the details. His sister, Laura (Rebecca Williams), has been missing since the night according to Anna. Laura was always a rebellious child.

She constantly indulged in arguments with her parents and had a tendency to become violent. Their cousin, Dylan (Matthieu Lucci), also came to stay with and never got along with Thomas and Laura.

Is everything actually how Thomas remembers it? Or is there a lot more to what really happened that night?

Performances

With a runtime of just one and a half hour, barely any actors get enough screen time. This is majorly a Thomas Grimaud film.

And Vergez is exceptional as the lead character, who is trying to piece together the details of the past. Especially as the film progresses, a lot more is asked of him, and he delivers.

Positives

The non-linear narrative makes for an interesting watch. The past and the present are constantly switched, as the viewers get more insight into Thomas’ mind and his past.

The tackling of psychological issues is central to ‘The Lost Patient’. The issues don’t just stem from Thomas being comatose and aren’t limited to memory lost.

As the plot unravels, more details about Thomas’ personality come to light, which completely swings any notions about the character.

The final part of the film divulges essential information and definitely delivers after the borderline painstakingly slow build-up.

Negatives

Despite a short runtime, the film just lingers till it reaches the final act. The first hour of the film needed more pace to keep the viewers engaged.

The psychological thriller genre has a number of popular films, and that makes it easier to predict what will happen in this one. The narrative isn’t extremely unique.

Verdict

‘The Lost Patient’ is decent despite the pacing issues. If you appreciate psychological thrillers, this will appeal to you, although you might be able to predict much of it.