PEAKY BLINDERS: THE IMMORTAL MAN Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Tom Harper
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan, Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Stephen Graham, Packy Lee, Ned Dennehy, Sophie Rundle, Ian Peck, Jay Lycurgo.
The gritty tv series Peaky Blinders ran for six seasons between 2013 and 2022. The series centred around a fictitious version of the real criminal gang that ruled Birmingham from the 1880s until just after WWI. They sewed razor blades into the peaks of their caps, which could then be used as a weapon, thus their name. The gang was led by the fierce but principled Thomas Shelby (Oscar winner Cillian Murphy) and his brother Arthur (Paul Anderson).
Produced under the auspices of Netflix, The Immortal Man is a stand-alone movie spin-off from the series, and it attempts to bring everything to a fitting conclusion. The film has been written by series creator and regular writer Steven Knight, who is obviously familiar with the characters and the setting and he infuses the material with a strong thematic subplot exploring complex father/son dynamics. Tom Harper, who directed many episodes in the series, returns to the director’s chair and he gives the film its edgy quality. For fans of the series this will ensure a sense of continuity and fealty to the concept. They will easily slip back into the familiar territory, but even those unfamiliar with the series should find it relatively easy to immerse themselves in the story.
Moving events forward from the familiar milieu of the tv series, this film is set in Birmingham in 1940, during the middle of the Blitz when the city was being regularly bombed by the Luftwaffe. Tommy Shelby (Murphy reprising his role) has left the world of crime behind him and now lives a reclusive life at the family home where he is writing a book. The book’s title also provides the title for this film. Thomas is still haunted by the ghosts of his daughter Ruth and memories of his recently deceased brother. Only his faithful groundkeeper Johhny Dogs (Packy Lee) is around to keep him company.
Shelby has turned control of the Peaky Blinders over to his son Erasmus “Duke” Shelby (played by Barry Keoghan, replacing Conrad Khan from the series), who doesn’t command the same level of respect as his father. Duke falls into a conspiracy, led by the Nazi sympathiser Beckett (Tim Roth), to spread counterfeit pound notes throughout England thus weakening the economy and undermining the war effort, leading to a German victory. This subplot is actually based on a real German plot to flood the British economy with fake bank notes produced by prisoners in one of the concentration camps.
After receiving a visit from Kaulo (Rebecca Ferguson) an enigmatic gypsy who claims to be the sister of his mother, Thomas is given an ominous warning. Emerging from his self-imposed exile, he heads off to Birmingham hoping to set Duke straight. But he finds Birmingham a vastly changed city, and many of its younger inhabitants don’t even know who he is or why they should fear him.
The film has been evocatively shot by cinematographers George Steel (who worked on the tv series) and Ben Wilson, who give the material its gritty aesthetic. And the film benefits from some strong production values, especially from production designer Jacqueline Abrahams who has recreated the bombed-out ruins and debris strewn streets of Birmingham, lending the setting a sense of authenticity. However, the film also features a somewhat anachronistic heavy rock score courtesy of Fontaine DC frontman Grian Chalfen and Anthony Green and Martin Slattery.
Murphy brings gravitas to his role as an older and somewhat wiser anti-hero here who seems uncomfortably aware that he is out of step with this new world. Many actors who appeared in the series briefly reprise their roles, including Lee, Stephen Graham and Ned Dennehy who play Johnny Doggs, Hayden Staggs and Charlie Strong respectively. Sophie Rundle also reprises her role as Ada Thorne, Thomas’ sister, who is now an MP and is in the process of gathering evidence of Duke’s criminal activities, which poses a threat to Duke’s control of the gang. Keoghan brings a vicious edge to his performance as Duke.
As with many big budget Netflix productions, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man will screen briefly in cinemas before it pops up on the streaming service.
★★★
