Through cigarette smoke and whiskey fumes came to us the fourth season of the BBC's epic historical drama series about the gangster family Shelby that rules Birmingham in the early 20th century. Based on the real gangster group that was bustling Birmingham at the end of the 19th century, Peaky Blinders is creating a world ruled by fear, money, rude performances and ruthlessness of a firm mafia arm. Nevertheless, during the previous three seasons, we were attracted by the likes of rounded caps with sewn razors and dressed in the last fashion between the two wars.
In the new season Steven Knight continues in the same sepia tone, with the same characters in new situations as well as with new reinforcements - after the Iraqis and Russians this time the main antagonists are the Americans, or the American Mafia. All the elements are in place, the tension from the previous season is continuing and we are ready to get stuck in the 20s in Birmingham industrial. What awaited us in the new season?
Trouble in paradise
Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) apparently betrayed his family at the end of the third season, which in the first minutes of the new season reluctantly goes to hang, but at the last moment Tommy's resourcefulness and thinking rescues them.
The family is not overly grateful to him for the generous gift of saving their lives, so he completes his solitude filled with money and glamour with prostitutes and whiskey. The family is nevertheless forced to meet again when everybody gets a Christmas card of the Changretta family led by the eldest son Lucom (Adrien Brody) who announces a visit and a suitable slaughter.
Tommy must now convince Arthur (Paul Anderson), John (Joe Cole), and Polly (Helen McCrory) to return to the shared security of Small Heath in Birmingham together with him. This is helped by Ada (Sophie Rundle) and Michael (Finn Cole), and then through a set of circumstances the whole family must really come to the same place and somehow agree. Tommy must now deal with this new big threat, the disobedience of his family members, but also with the workers' strike at his factory.
The new Peaky Blinders don't actually bring anything new in terms of radical innovations in action or character setup, but they nevertheless manage to stay on the same level or even to overcome. The rhythm of the series is moderate, but it's filled to the end and without empty walk. Each minute is used either for the development of characters and actions or for setting the atmosphere.
The BBC is dispersing with its high-quality and expensive production, which is otherwise characteristic of their historical drama series, and Steven Knight perfectly exploits it and creates beautifully placed personnel, ensuring that everything is harmonious and eye-catching.
Knight is also pedantic in his script - the dialogues are dynamic, the characters and their motives are clearly defined, and the story is accompanied by modern rhythms of alternative and indie rock, led by Cave's Red Right Hand as an introductory song. This season continues this unusual but successful and actually perfect match of the old story with new melodies. The series is actually as divine as its main character - it's self-sufficient, but cold-blooded in performance and irresistible. He doesn't forget even a good situational comedy, which Knight also makes good use of to free us from the gray and heavy fogs in Birmingham.
An integral part of this series are certainly outstanding performances. Cillian Murphy's plays the role of his life, and in this season he just keeps on doing a fantastic job, representing us extremely complex, layered and closed Tommy. It's especially difficult for audiences who are very familiar with gangster and mafia movie discourse to come up with another new old idea and not get stuck in the caricature, but Knight and his acting setup work with tact and meticulous.
Right next to Murphy's side, Helen McCrory goes like Polly, from which she doesn't create a hysterical, but a complicated and modern woman of the 20th century, and immediately followed by high-pitched Tom Hardy's heads as hilarious and unpredictable Alfie Solomons. We are still not sure whether Alfie is on Tommy's side or just looking for a way to overcome it, but that's what makes their relationship and Alfie's character so interesting.
In this season, Adrien Brody joins as the first real antagonist after the Irish inspector in the first two seasons and he is completely charming from the very first moment. The new characters and problems they bring with them keep the interest of the viewer. Brody and Murphy have enough strong and good chemistry to succeed on the screen to convey rivalry among their characters. As an additional help, Aidan Gillen comes in the shape of a paid murderer of Abarama Gold, and fits perfectly into this gimmick. The interest of this series is that the hierarchy of characters is well-known, but everyone is equally important, and each of them gets a good minute and a significant scene.
Peaky blinders is an extremely seductive and smart series and although the motifs has been used so many times, it proves that if something is presented in interesting and just in a slightly different way, the audience will respond positively. Once we allow these charming gangsters with tailor made suits, cigarettes in the mouth and whiskey in the veins, we will not be able to help but cheer for them and their evil intentions.
This was my translation from Ziher.hr article ''Prijatelja drΕΎi blizu, obitelj joΕ‘ bliΕΎe'' by I.Kolar
