New Shelby Gangs: "Peaky Blinders" defied the Nazis
"Sharp visors: The Immortal Man" is a full—fledged film that continues the popular TV show. Cillian Murphy returns to the role of Thomas Shelby, Tim Roth, Barry Keoghan and Rebecca Ferguson have been added to the cast. In Great Britain, besieged by the Nazis, the famous gang from Birmingham finds itself embroiled in a major military sabotage operation, and the fate of the country now depends on which way the long-standing family problems of the gangster dynasty are resolved. Izvestia explains why this movie should be watched even if you haven't seen a single episode of the six seasons of the classic "Sharp Visors."
What are the new "Sharp Visors" about
Take a little walk to the edge of town — one of Nick Cave's best songs began not only the Russian art drama "Goddess: How I Fell in Love", but also the iconic British TV series "Peaky Blinders". The cult show lasted for six seasons and in 2022 it seemed to say goodbye to us forever. And suddenly there's a two—hour feature film, featuring Birmingham, tweed suits, big caps, and Thomas Shelby himself. Before the online premiere, Netflix even released the film for a limited release, although this was probably unnecessary.
The series left us in the mid-1930s, the action of the film begins in 1940. The first scene is a Nazi concentration camp, where prisoners produce tons of counterfeit banknotes to destroy the British economy. A certain Beckett (Tim Roth) is responsible for the delivery and distribution operation. He owns the first line in the movie: Heil f..king Hitler. And this is the best characteristic for his character, as if he broke into the "Visors" straight from the Tarantino universe. To be honest, it even seems that Roth agreed to this role, because Tarantino hasn't shot anything for a long time (he cut scenes with Roth from Once upon a Time in Hollywood), but he still wants to play something in this spirit. Here's a chance.
At this point, it's time to clarify: of course, the film was shot primarily for fans of the series, but it can also be watched by beginners, so perhaps it will be even more interesting. For them, it will be a gangster drama with a claim to Shakespeare's laurels and even the occasional ancient tragedy.
A shot from the TV series "Peaky Blinders"
Leaving aside Beckett, we have family matters here. The elderly former godfather of the Birmingham Peaky Blinders gang, Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy), is quietly losing his mind in a house somewhere in the British marshes. He sees his dead daughter and brother, he lives like in a dream, and he keeps writing a novel-memoir called, as we later learn, "The Immortal Man." Exactly until a gorgeous gypsy witch (Rebecca Ferguson) shows up to him and persuades him to go to a meeting with another, very lively son Duke (Barry Keoghan). He became the head of the "Sharp Visors" and had just entered into a deal with Beckett to capitalize on the Nazi victory. Consumed by the pangs of conscience, the torments of a sick mind and uncontrollable rage, Thomas goes to Birmingham, seething from bombing and gang violence.
Do I need to watch "Peaky Blinders: The Immortal man"
For the multimillion-strong fan base of Sharp Visors, the film is, of course, a must-see, but those who missed the series, which is famous for its cruelty, should also pay attention to it. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, ratings from both critics and ordinary users are about 90%, which is a very high indicator for, in fact, a picture about the battle of the "visors" and the Nazis.
But what a pleasure it is to see Tim Roth in the role of Mephistopheles, tempting the most terrible English scoundrels and at the same time personally doing all the dirty work, if he still has to! The actor here, as always, is unpredictable, impulsive, dangerous and at the same time incredibly charming. He is entrusted with almost more screen time than Killian Murphy, who, by the way, is the main star of the series.
The premiere of the film "Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man at the International Cinema in Berlin
Murphy himself doesn't look much like himself in the Visors here, even when he stuffs a grenade under the shirt of an unlucky offender. Most of the time he is gloomily silent, and in his eyes he has passions of at least the "King Lear" degree, if not the Aeschylus heroes. His madness forces him to exist in two worlds at the same time, and in the reality of his dreams he finds himself more often and feels even calmer there. There, his lot is contemplation and the slow path to telling himself the truth about his sins. And here we need to do something, and urgently, before the crazy son gets things done.
The son is played by Barry Keoghan, who has already turned from a young super talented artist into a recognized master with an impeccable reputation. Especially after the films "Banshee Inisherina" and "The Bird", and now in Cannes, there may be a new work by Cantemir Balagov "Jam from butterflies", where Keoghan has one of the main roles. And here, Keoghan is not inferior to his older colleagues in any scene. Where their characters are cruel, he is doubly cruel, and where they are treacherous, he is treacherous tenfold. Thomas Shelby had many constraints: family, military experience, the people he grew up with, principles. For Duke Shelby, the only law is his own passions, and it is he who in many ways turns the plot into a kind of ancient tragedy.
Barry Keoghan at the premiere of the film "Peaky Blinders: The Immortal man"
Of course, one would have expected that the filmmakers would give a bigger role to Stephen Graham, who recently won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for the main image in his life — a confused father in "Transition Age." He has a frustratingly few scenes here, and the delighted audience quickly realizes that if they want to look at Graham, they need to look for another reason. And yet he's here, which is also a plus for the movie.
But Rebecca Ferguson was allowed to open up to the fullest. A sexy schemer, she plays a character on the level of the sorceress Medea, even if the conflict here is somewhat different. Ferguson is also in a golden period: the Dune franchise, last year's super hit House of Dynamite, Mission Impossible — the actress is now at the peak of success. Nevertheless, here she has the strongest role in recent years, beautifully written and superbly played, because her gypsy seems to be from the world of spirits and dreams, an otherworldly creature with inviting flesh, a real gift for any actress.
Rebecca Ferguson at the premiere of the film "Peaky Blinders: The Immortal man"
For the sake of this ensemble, the film can be forgiven for the primitive computer graphics of Birmingham painted under bombs and the stinginess of plot twists for two hours of time. Such a local story could be told in a shorter time, and sometimes a finger reaches out to press the speed of viewing: the Netflix player allows you to play content one and a half times faster, and you can do more on a computer. And here it is most appropriate.
The authors of the film overdid the music behind the scenes, as if they were not very sure that the drama would hold the viewer sufficiently. But when Nick Cave starts singing off-camera about a man in a dirty black coat and with a red right hand, we are finally shown this image in all its glory. And the joy of it is indescribable.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
