The Madness of "River" (A Netflix Original Series)

“Madness can bring its own kind of clarity.” - John River in “River”

John River of the British police procedural, “River” is a character unlike any other.  What sets him apart is his ability to hear and see what he calls “manifests”, dead people from his past who visit him as hallucinations and comment on his thoughts, feelings, and situation.  Obviously, society would deem such a person “insane”, “psychotic” or “mad”, but “River” as a series, has a more open-minded outlook on its characters and does not paint them into any corner.

As the series opens, DS John River (Stellan Skarsgard) is on the trail of suspects in one of his cases.   He is accompanied by his partner, DS Jackie “Stevie” Stevenson (Nicola Walker) as they converse in their car and drive around.  Gradually, however, we learn that the case that River is investigating is the murder of Stevie and that her appearance is a figment of River’s visions.  The viewer witnesses River conversing and reacting to Stevie’s interjections much to the bewilderment of those around him.

Stevie is not the only manifest that River interacts with:  there are other people, now dead, from past and current cases, as well as the 19th century serial killer from a book River is reading.  All these presences appear to be detrimental to his state of mind and makes him appear completely crazy to those around him as he continues on the case.

There have been other items of popular culture that have presented “hearing voices” or hallucinations in a similar manner.  “A Beautiful Mind” comes to mind as one which had a similar depiction of insanity.  What sets “River” apart is the way the lead character's illness is presented to the viewer.
One example of this can be seen in the way the series is shot:  In one shot, River will be physically interacting with the object of his hallucination, in the next shot he is alone.  As mentioned one of his manifests is Thomas Cream, a 19th century serial killer.  Cream frequently belittles and antagonizes River in their conversations.  At one point River grabs Cream and starts to grapple with him and beat him up.  In the initial shot, we see the two characters fighting.  In a second shot, we see the real world’s view of River and how he is by himself and seemingly wrestling with absolutely nothing, a figment of his own imagination.

Also, River’s insanity is presented with humanity and understanding.  Though what is known as psychosis is allegedly a debilitating mental illness, the series never panders to River’s disability and arguably presents it as a psychic gift for River despite the problems it can cause.  River sometimes comes to realizations about himself and his cases through his interactions with manifests.  In reality, River’s visions must ultimately come from himself, his own psyche and unconscious.  In learning to deal with and grapple with his unconscious manifests, River is learning to deal with his own emotions, buried traumas, and the dark side of his psyche.  This idea, that there can be some meaning behind and purpose to madness, is what really makes “River” a revelation.  Mental illness or whatever you want to call it, be it bipolar disorder, insanity, madness, psychosis, mania, schizophrenia, or depression may not be just some meaningless malfunction of the brain, but a healing mechanism that is attempting to make the invisible visible, the unconscious conscious, or the
fractured more whole.

In the end, River seems to come to an understanding of himself and comes to terms with his illness and his relationship to DS Stevenson.  Furthermore, the series paints a picture of mental illness not just as a divergence from normality, but as an alternative colour in the palette of humanity’s multitudinous perspectives.