Naomi Watts in the new Netflix thriller Gypsy. The British actor plays a therapist who blurs her professional boundaries. Alison Cohen Rosa / Netflix
Naomi Watts in the new Netflix thriller Gypsy. The British actor plays a therapist who blurs her professional boundaries. Alison Cohen Rosa / Netflix
Naomi Watts in the new Netflix thriller Gypsy. The British actor plays a therapist who blurs her professional boundaries. Alison Cohen Rosa / Netflix
Naomi Watts in the new Netflix thriller Gypsy. The British actor plays a therapist who blurs her professional boundaries. Alison Cohen Rosa / Netflix

Gender roles reversed in Netflix’s new dark drama Gypsy


  • English
  • Arabic

'First, do no harm" is the familiar oath taken by medical practitioners. But as a Manhattan therapist with a dark secret – and scant respect for professional boundaries – Naomi Watts can hardly be held to her word in Gypsy, a new 10-part psychological thriller available on Netflix from Friday.

She stars as Jean Holloway, whose desires and obsessions are laid bare in a way usually reserved for male characters, as she complicates her seemingly perfect life by developing relationships with the people in the lives of her patients.

“I play quite a bad woman – she’s definitely flawed,” says Watts. “We’ve seen this character played out with a male protagonist many times over but I think it’s not that common for a woman to be playing someone seeking power and control, but still having a lot of desire.”

As the borders of Jean’s professional life and personal wants blur, she descends into a world where the forces of desire and reality are disastrously at odds.

It hardly helps that whenever common sense dictates she should step on the brakes, she races ahead with nervy abandon, leaving her husband, Michael (Spotlight's Billy Crudup), home alone wondering what is going on.

A great home life and a solid marriage is not enough, it seems, to dull her pangs of desire.

Two-time Oscar nominee Watts, 48, began her acting career on television in Australia in Hey Dad..! (1990). She moved to the United States for a role on the short-lived NBC sci-fi series Sleepwalkers (1997), before her breakout role in David Lynch's neo-noir mystery film Mulholland Drive (2001) kicked her movie career into high gear. Subsequent movies include 21 Grams (2003), King Kong (2005), The International (2009) and acclaimed tsunami-disaster film The Impossible (2012).

She can currently be seen in the Twin Peaks TV sequel, which has reunited her with Lynch.

In addition to Watts, who is also an executive producer, Gypsy stars Sophie Cookson (Kingsman) as rock chick Sidney, Lucy Boynton (Murder on the Orient Express) as Jean's patient, Allison, and Karl Glusman (­Nocturnal Animals) as another patient, Sam.

The series was written by Hollywood newcomer Lisa Rubin. Behind the camera – keeping a tight focus on all the amoral and amorous entanglements, and shooting in a peeping-Tom style that makes voyeurs of viewers – is a woman with an eye for this sort of thing, Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson.

"I really wanted to examine honestly what it looks like to follow the path that leads to becoming a wife and mother with a successful career, and to then find that these are now the things that define you," Rubin recently told The Guardian. "What about all the things that came before? Where do the desires you used to have go? And what happens if you stop suppressing the way you feel?"

"There is an erotic nature to Gypsy," Taylor-Johnson said, "but it's not at all in a similar way to Fifty Shades. It's about the character's power as a woman and how she uses it in her practice. It's complex".

As she sinks deeper into her unethical quagmire, even Jean confesses in a voice-over: “The more you watch someone, the more you realise we are never really who we say we are. In fact, hidden underneath, there’s always a secret. We might actually be someone else.

“I guess I’ve been living my life as two people. I don’t know which one is real ... I don’t know who’s in control anymore.”

In real life, Watts – a mother to two sons, Sasha, 9, and Sammy, 8 – says she is focusing on her career at the moment, not relationships or dating, after breaking up with actor Liev Schreiber last year after 11 years together.

But she is being picky selecting her projects.

“I’m here to tell the stories,” she says. “Not just to go to work and get paid by great actors and directors; it’s more than that. It has to be stuff that you’re connecting with, if it’s bringing something back into your own life. If it’s not growing me, then what’s the point?”

Gypsy will be available on Netflix from Friday

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Price, base: Dh1.2 million

Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 725hp @ 6,500pm

Torque: 900Nm @ 1,800rpm

Fuel economy, combined:  12.3L / 100km (estimate)

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
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  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
While you're here
Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
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The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders
Stuart Kells, Counterpoint Press

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

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The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

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Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
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Price: From Dh801,800
The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

What is Folia?

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.

Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."

Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.

In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love". 

There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.

While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."

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Started: 2018

Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo

Based: Dubai

Sector: Transport

Size: 9 employees

Investment: $1,275,000

Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm

Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Price: from Dh155,000

On sale: now

The Sky Is Pink

Director: Shonali Bose

Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf

Three stars

FIXTURES

Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)

RACE RESULTS

1. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1hr 21min 48.527sec
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) at 0.658sec
3. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull) 6.012 
4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 7.430
5. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN/Ferrari) 20.370
6. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas) 1:13.160
7. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Force India) 1 lap
8. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India) 1 lap
9. Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams) 1 lap
10. Lance Stroll (CAN/Williams) 1 lap
11. Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault) 1 lap
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren) 1 lap
13. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Renault) 1 lap
14. Pascal Wehrlein (GER/Sauber) 1 lap
15. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber) 2 laps
16. Daniil Kvyat (RUS/Toro Rosso) 3 laps