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Peaky Blinders; The Guilty – TV review Peaky Blinders; The Guilty – TV review
(5 days later)
Women, children and animals rush inside off the muddy street and bolt their doors as a man with pale blue eyes rides his horse into town to a Nick Cave soundtrack. High Noon meets Quentin Tarantino. But where? Dodge City? Tombstone? Not exactly. It's Birmingham.Women, children and animals rush inside off the muddy street and bolt their doors as a man with pale blue eyes rides his horse into town to a Nick Cave soundtrack. High Noon meets Quentin Tarantino. But where? Dodge City? Tombstone? Not exactly. It's Birmingham.
Almost every other big city in the country has had its time in the spotlight as the location for a big budget TV drama, but Birmingham has always been a place for producers to travel through en route to somewhere else. At least, it has ever since the Crossroads motel closed its doors for good in 2003. Now, 10 years on, Birmingham's time has come again, though it may not be a Birmingham that many people recognise.Almost every other big city in the country has had its time in the spotlight as the location for a big budget TV drama, but Birmingham has always been a place for producers to travel through en route to somewhere else. At least, it has ever since the Crossroads motel closed its doors for good in 2003. Now, 10 years on, Birmingham's time has come again, though it may not be a Birmingham that many people recognise.
Peaky Blinders (BBC2) is based on a real-life gang (they got their name from the razor blades they kept in their caps to blind people with) that operated in Birmingham after the first world war, so I have to assume there is some truth in the city's portrayal as a lawless outpost run by gangs of hardened and traumatised veterans who have returned from the trenches armed to the teeth. But with its saloon bars, gambling joints and a lone sharpshooter, Chief Inspector Campbell (Sam Neill), coming into town on the iron horse to restore order, Peaky Blinders felt more like the wild west.Peaky Blinders (BBC2) is based on a real-life gang (they got their name from the razor blades they kept in their caps to blind people with) that operated in Birmingham after the first world war, so I have to assume there is some truth in the city's portrayal as a lawless outpost run by gangs of hardened and traumatised veterans who have returned from the trenches armed to the teeth. But with its saloon bars, gambling joints and a lone sharpshooter, Chief Inspector Campbell (Sam Neill), coming into town on the iron horse to restore order, Peaky Blinders felt more like the wild west.
It was, however, undeniably entertaining, though more as a soap romp than a drama; I didn't feel quite as involved with the gun heist from the Birmingham Small Arms factory and the warring gangs as I think I was meant to be. The problem wasn't with the script or the acting, so much as the production – when every detail is stylised to within an inch of its life, the drama loses much of its credibility and menace.It was, however, undeniably entertaining, though more as a soap romp than a drama; I didn't feel quite as involved with the gun heist from the Birmingham Small Arms factory and the warring gangs as I think I was meant to be. The problem wasn't with the script or the acting, so much as the production – when every detail is stylised to within an inch of its life, the drama loses much of its credibility and menace.
I just didn't care as much for the characters as I needed to. They felt too much like cartoons. I longed to take Helen McCrory more seriously as Aunt Polly, the gang's matriarch, but I couldn't help thinking of Peggy Mitchell. And it's hard to take any threat made by Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby too personally when he is made up to look as if he's stepped straight out of a 1919 boy band. Still, there's nothing wrong with the occasional romp and Peaky Blinders is certainly worth perservering with. In any case, we all need a break from tortured angst and depressing realism from time to time.I just didn't care as much for the characters as I needed to. They felt too much like cartoons. I longed to take Helen McCrory more seriously as Aunt Polly, the gang's matriarch, but I couldn't help thinking of Peggy Mitchell. And it's hard to take any threat made by Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby too personally when he is made up to look as if he's stepped straight out of a 1919 boy band. Still, there's nothing wrong with the occasional romp and Peaky Blinders is certainly worth perservering with. In any case, we all need a break from tortured angst and depressing realism from time to time.
And from The Guilty (ITV). The first episode was quite enjoyable, in a familiar, child-killing, upmarket housing estate with no traffic, all filmed in washed-out colours kind of way. But halfway through the second episode, I began to feel it was me who had been clubbed to death. Some dramas can get away with being relentlessly claustrophobic, but The Guilty can't because it's too busy making sure nobody misses the point. Every long meaningful look – which, come to think of it, applies to almost every look – is held for just that bit too long.And from The Guilty (ITV). The first episode was quite enjoyable, in a familiar, child-killing, upmarket housing estate with no traffic, all filmed in washed-out colours kind of way. But halfway through the second episode, I began to feel it was me who had been clubbed to death. Some dramas can get away with being relentlessly claustrophobic, but The Guilty can't because it's too busy making sure nobody misses the point. Every long meaningful look – which, come to think of it, applies to almost every look – is held for just that bit too long.
The point, as you probably inferred from the title, is that it's not just whoever killed Callum that is guilty; everyone is guilty. You. Me. We've all got secrets to hide, we're all guilty of something and all it takes is for one seemingly unconnected event to knock down the whole pack of cards. It's not a bad idea – The Killing did it very well. But The Guilty feels far too self-consciously manufactured.The point, as you probably inferred from the title, is that it's not just whoever killed Callum that is guilty; everyone is guilty. You. Me. We've all got secrets to hide, we're all guilty of something and all it takes is for one seemingly unconnected event to knock down the whole pack of cards. It's not a bad idea – The Killing did it very well. But The Guilty feels far too self-consciously manufactured.
Clare feels guilty because she got pissed at a barbecue and had a row with Daniel the night before Callum was abducted from their home. She also feels guilty that she doesn't love her stepson as much as she did Callum. Daniel feels guilty because he was having an affair with Teresa. Nina feels guilty because she was forced to implicate Jason as the killer. Jason would be feeling guilty, if he hadn't hanged himself in the police cell. The junior detective is beginning to feel guilty for fitting up Jason. DCI Maggie Brand, the usually faultless Tamsin Greig, feels permanently guilty about being a working mother and tries to ignore concerns that her five-year old son may have learning difficulties.Clare feels guilty because she got pissed at a barbecue and had a row with Daniel the night before Callum was abducted from their home. She also feels guilty that she doesn't love her stepson as much as she did Callum. Daniel feels guilty because he was having an affair with Teresa. Nina feels guilty because she was forced to implicate Jason as the killer. Jason would be feeling guilty, if he hadn't hanged himself in the police cell. The junior detective is beginning to feel guilty for fitting up Jason. DCI Maggie Brand, the usually faultless Tamsin Greig, feels permanently guilty about being a working mother and tries to ignore concerns that her five-year old son may have learning difficulties.
Feeling guilty is all anyone does. Except for Daniel's son – Clare's stepson – who just looks a bit lost. So as he's the only one who's not looking guilty, my hunch is that he's definitely the killer.Feeling guilty is all anyone does. Except for Daniel's son – Clare's stepson – who just looks a bit lost. So as he's the only one who's not looking guilty, my hunch is that he's definitely the killer.
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