Peaky Blinders (Season 1)

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⭐ 8/10

This show is kind of everything I thought it would be, and that's a show that's quite good but not great. This plays out like a prequel to Boardwalk Empire, another show I thought was high quality but I didn't love. Its a classic tale of a mob family trying to make their way from a small player to the big leagues, much like Boardwalk Empire these guys specialize in gambling. I do love mafia stories, Sopranos and Scorsese stuff, and this felt indebted to everything that came before.

One thing it has going for it is the setting. This post WWI Irish family, each with their own demons, trying to become to run their business but also protect their family. I thought the accents and everything were great, a specific period that I think is what draws people to shows like this. It's also a tight 6 episode season which I appreciated, never felt like there was any filler or any teases to be resolved next season. A complete story that had me excited to watch more.

All that said, nothing else felt special. The writing is definitely solid, if a little over dramatic, but it plays well. Cillian Murphy is good but kind of just consistent - I actually thought the older brother was the standout actor for me, and I wanted more from him to do. Murphy as Tommy Shelby is stoic and simmering, smooth in his business operations but unravelling a bit personally. Sound like any other mob bosses in movies and TV? Ya, all of them. We have under cover spies, forbidden romance, inner family politics. All story beats that work and are dramatic but not original. It features a bunch of more modern sounding music, I would assume some Irish rock band or something, and even the main theme felt out of place for me. Probably intentional, I just didn't find it effective.

I very curious where it goes from here, and I kind of hope its not just another big mob family they need to dominate. The family dynamics are what make shoes like this, and the biggest moments for me were all related to the family, not the business or the violence. This's show's certainly got a lot of style, I'm hoping for more substance and originality going forward.

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