Movie Review: 'The Good Doctor' -- 3 stars

The Good Doctor
3 stars
Directed by Lance Daly
Starring Orlando Bloom, Riley Keough, Taraji P. Henson
Rated PG-13

"The Good Doctor" stars Orlando Bloom as the classic modern day cinematic loner.

His Dr. Martin Blake is an introverted professional, whose exceedingly proper demeanor disguises perverse impulses and the deep-seated self-hatred that comes with them. He's the medical version of the characters played by Robin Williams in "One Hour Photo," or Gene Hackman in "The Conversation."

Bloom takes center stage in every scene of Lance Daly's low-key drama and it's an impressive, introspective performance, far removed from the "Lord of the Rings" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" worlds.

Blake, a resident physician at a California hospital and an outsider among his colleagues, is a vivid character, whose anxieties are given weight by the actor's anguished physicality.

The story is centered on Blake's fascination with his patient Diane Nixon (Riley Keough), who has a rare kidney disorder. Their bedside flirtations are transformed into something more in the doctor's mind, and he takes drastic steps to keep her imprisoned in his care.

The film isn't really interested in developing the plot, which is thin and inconsequential at best. It's more predicated on evoking a very specific mood. Set in a personality-free world, with the colorless hospital matched only by Blake's sleek, sparse apartment, "The Good Doctor" is about a particularly antiseptic form of madness. And that, ultimately, sets it apart.