I Know This Much Is True | |
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Based on | I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb |
Written by |
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Directed by | Derek Cianfrance |
Starring | |
Narrated by | Mark Ruffalo Marcello Fonte |
Music by | Harold Budd |
Country of origin | United States |
Original languages | English Sicilian |
No. of episodes | 6 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Jeffrey T. Bernstein |
Cinematography | Jody Lee Lipes |
Editors |
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Running time | 59–80 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | HBO |
Release | May 10 – June 14, 2020 |
I Know This Much Is True is an American drama television miniseries directed and co-written by Derek Cianfrance, based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Wally Lamb. The series stars Mark Ruffalo in a dual role as twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey. [1] It premiered on HBO on May 10, 2020, and concluded on June 14, 2020, consisting of six episodes. Ruffalo's performance was widely acclaimed and won him a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
The show takes place in Three Rivers, Connecticut in the early 1990s. Dominick Birdsey's identical twin, Thomas Birdsey, suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. With medication, Thomas is able to live his life in relative peace and work at a coffee stand, but occasionally, he has severe episodes of his illness. Thinking he is making a sacrificial protest that will stop the Gulf War, Thomas cuts off his own hand while at a public library. Dominick sees him through the ensuing decision not to attempt to reattach the hand, and makes efforts on his behalf to free him from what he knows to be an inadequate and depressing hospital for the dangerously mentally ill.
No. | Title | Directed by [3] | Written by | Original air date [2] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Episode 1" | Derek Cianfrance | Derek Cianfrance | May 10, 2020 | 0.323 [4] |
2 | "Episode 2" | Derek Cianfrance | Derek Cianfrance | May 17, 2020 | 0.313 [5] |
3 | "Episode 3" | Derek Cianfrance | Derek Cianfrance | May 24, 2020 | 0.314 [6] |
4 | "Episode 4" | Derek Cianfrance | Derek Cianfrance | May 31, 2020 | 0.391 [7] |
5 | "Episode 5" | Derek Cianfrance | Derek Cianfrance and Anya Epstein | June 7, 2020 | 0.377 [8] |
6 | "Episode 6" | Derek Cianfrance | Derek Cianfrance and Anya Epstein | June 14, 2020 | 0.452 [9] |
In June 1998, it was announced that 20th Century Fox had acquired film rights to I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb, with Clinica Estetico producing, and Jonathan Demme potentially directing. [10] In July 2000, it was announced Matt Damon would star in the film, with Jim Sheridan directing from a screenplay by Richard Friedenberg. [11] In July 2004, it was announced Gina Prince-Bythewood would direct and re-write the film. [12] The film rights expired and reverted to Lamb, who thought the novel would be better adapted into a miniseries rather than a film. Being a fan of Mark Ruffalo's work, Lamb suggested Ruffalo should play the role of the twins. [13] [14] Ruffalo was sent the book and wrote an e-mail to Lamb confessing his love for the novel, stating he definitely wanted to be involved. [15]
Ruffalo had been interested in working with Derek Cianfrance, and reached out to see if Cianfrance would be interested in directing and writing the series. [16] Lamb told Cianfrance and Ruffalo to make the material their own, and did not ask to see the scripts. [17] In October 2017, it was announced HBO would produce and distribute the series, with Ruffalo starring and executive producing, Cianfrance directing, writing and executive-producing alongside Lamb, with FilmNation Entertainment producing the series. [18] In October 2018, the series was greenlit. [19]
Ruffalo first shot all of his scenes as Dominick, requiring him to lose 15 pounds (6.8 kg). After finishing his scenes as Dominick, Ruffalo took a six-week break to gain 30 lb (14 kg) and then shoot his scenes as Thomas. [20] Gabe Fazio worked as a stand-in for both Dominick and Thomas. He is the same height as Ruffalo and lost 30 lb to play Dominick when Ruffalo shot his scenes as Thomas. [21] Production concluded in October 2019. [22]
In April 2019, Melissa Leo, Rosie O'Donnell, Archie Panjabi, Imogen Poots, Juliette Lewis and Kathryn Hahn joined the cast of the series. [23] In November 2019, it was announced Aisling Franciosi, John Procaccino, Rob Huebel, Philip Ettinger and Michael Greyeyes had joined the cast of the series. [24]
The members of the Psychiatric Security Review Board in Episode 4 are played by some local officials in Dutchess County, New York, where most of the series was filmed: State Senator Sue Serino, sheriff Butch Anderson, and his wife Danielle, president of the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie. [25]
Principal photography began in April 2019, in New York's Hudson Valley. [26] [27] [28] On May 9, 2019, a fire erupted on the set of the series at a used car dealership in Ellenville. The building, film equipment and 20 vintage cars were destroyed. There were no injuries but it put filming on hold. [29]
Poughkeepsie was used for many of the scenes set in Three Rivers, with the Mid-Hudson Bridge visible in the background of the cityscape in most establishing shots. The Birdsey family home is at the corner of Delafield and Hoffman streets. The Vassar College campus is used for scenes set at the University of Connecticut, and Dr. Patel's office is in a strip mall on U.S. Route 9 south of the city. A flashback scene in a later episode required covering Mount Carmel Avenue with dirt to recreate a pre-automotive era. The casino in the closing scenes of the series is the new patient pavilion at Vassar Brothers Hospital, still under construction while it was used in the production. [25]
Elsewhere in Dutchess County, Dominick and Joy's apartment is at Pleasant Valley Estates, and he and Leo play their racquetball match at a Fishkill club; Seasons restaurant in that community was also the location for some scenes. The flashback to 1922 was filmed at the Market Street Industrial Park in Wappingers Falls, where the costumes and sets were stored as well. Many of the mental hospital scenes were filmed at the Taconic Development Disability Services offices in Wassaic. [25]
Across the Hudson River, Thomas's initial breakdown in the opening scene was filmed in the Newburgh library, looking out across the river, and Dominick and Dessa are shown entering the terminal at Stewart International Airport near that city in flashback, where she boards a flight for Europe. In addition to the Ellenville car dealership used for the scenes with Leo, some other locations in Ulster County were used, including Awosting Falls in Minnewaska State Park Preserve on the Shawangunk Ridge west of New Paltz. The Springtown Truss Bridge on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail across the Wallkill River north of that village, also known for its use in the opening scenes of the 2018 horror film A Quiet Place and its 2021 sequel, was used for the flashback scene where Dominick and Thomas's grandfather throws a bag with a live monkey into the river. [25] A section of U.S. Route 209 outside Kingston also was used for a confrontation between Dominick and Thomas in the first episode; the road was closed for two days in both directions for filming. [30]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the miniseries holds an approval rating of 76% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 6.85/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "I Know This Much is True's relentlessly grim plotting makes it a difficult watch, but the strength of Mark Ruffalo's dual performances is enough to make it a dark tale worth tuning into." [31] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [32]
Writing for The A.V. Club , Ines Bellina rated the series a B−, praising Ruffalo's performance but criticizing it for not being enjoyable to watch and summing it up as "an uneven journey, overwhelming in its self-indulgent trauma... [but] Against all odds, it ends on a more heartfelt and hopeful note than the preceding six hours would lead you to believe." [33]
No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Episode 1" | May 10, 2020 | 0.05 | 0.323 [4] | — | — | — | — |
2 | "Episode 2" | May 17, 2020 | 0.06 | 0.313 [5] | — | 0.256 | — | 0.569 [34] |
3 | "Episode 3" | May 24, 2020 | 0.06 | 0.314 [6] | — | 0.264 | — | 0.578 [35] |
4 | "Episode 4" | May 31, 2020 | 0.08 | 0.391 [7] | — | 0.224 | — | 0.615 [36] |
5 | "Episode 5" | June 7, 2020 | 0.04 | 0.377 [8] | — | 0.282 | — | 0.659 [37] |
6 | "Episode 6" | June 14, 2020 | 0.06 | 0.452 [9] | — | 0.246 | — | 0.698 [38] |
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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2020 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie | Mark Ruffalo | Won | [39] |
TCA Awards | Individual Achievement in Drama | Nominated | [40] | ||
2021 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie | Nominated | [41] | |
Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Limited Series or Television Film | Won | [42] | ||
Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film | Nominated | [43] | ||
Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series | Won | [44] | ||
Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode | Eric Pascarelli, Keith Kolder and Ariel Altman (for Episode 1) | Nominated | [45] |
In May 2022, both HBO and Mark Ruffalo were sued by residents of Ellenville, New York for not cleaning up a fire that broke out on the set of a car dealership that was used as a location for the miniseries. [46] The residents claimed that they have suffered physical and emotional injuries and added that the fire caused damage to their homes and exposed them to toxic fumes. [47]
Mark Alan Ruffalo is an American actor. He began acting in the early 1990s and first gained recognition for his work in Kenneth Lonergan's play This Is Our Youth (1996) and drama film You Can Count on Me (2000). He went on to star in the romantic comedies 13 Going on 30 (2004), Just like Heaven (2005) and the thrillers In the Cut (2003), Zodiac (2007), and Shutter Island (2010). He received a Tony Award nomination for his supporting role in the Broadway revival of Awake and Sing! in 2006. Ruffalo gained international recognition for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I Know This Much Is True is the second novel by Wally Lamb, published in 1998. It was featured in Oprah's Book Club for June 1998.
Kathryn Marie Hahn is an American actress and comedian. She began her career on television, starring as grief counselor Lily Lebowski in the NBC crime drama series Crossing Jordan (2001–2007). Hahn gained prominence appearing as a supporting actress in a number of comedy films, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Step Brothers (2008), The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009), Our Idiot Brother (2011), We're the Millers and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and Glass Onion (2022).
Derek M. Cianfrance is an American film director, cinematographer, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for writing and directing the films Blue Valentine,The Place Beyond the Pines and The Light Between Oceans as well as the HBO miniseries I Know This Much Is True. For his contributions to the story of Sound of Metal, he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with its director Darius Marder and Abraham Marder.
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Mark Ruffalo is an American actor who has starred in numerous films and television series. Ruffalo made his acting debut in an episode of CBS Summer Playhouse. He began collaborating with Kenneth Lonergan and appeared in several of his plays, In 1996 he was included in the original cast of Lonergan's play This Is Our Youth (1996) which gained him recognition subsequently he had minor roles in films including The Dentist (1996), Safe Men (1998) and Ang Lee's Civil War Western Ride with the Devil (1999). In 2000, he starred as Laura Linney's character's brother in Lonergan's Academy Award-nominated film You Can Count on Me.
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