This film isn’t simply a masterful feature told with all the style and panache of a brilliant storyteller – Steven Knight – and presenting an amazing cast led by a storied actor – Cillian Murphy. It’s a critical part of a story line that has been going for years and, thankfully, will continue.
“Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man” caps off a 6 season run of productions offered on Netflix that has focused on the exploits of the Shelby family living in Birmingham, England between World War I and World War II. For those who have not immersed themselves in the exploits of this complex, often violent, always passionate family, simply viewing this piece of the family puzzle may not have the impact intended. After all, the six seasons that led to this moment are infused in the plot lines of “ … The Immortal Man” and, frankly, are essential in the appreciation of what Knight has built.
A bit of encouragement. Since the weather is still a bit unsettled, starting from season 1, episode 1 and riding the wild currents of the series before viewing this latest offering is likely a very good idea. We wouldn’t want you to miss any of the rich rehearsal of details leading to where we are now.
A brief summary of the plot line of the film will, by design NOT spoil the ending. Tommy Shelby, the character fully inhabited by Murphy, has become a recluse. He is writing his memoir – “The Immortal Man” while “self-medicating,” haunted by the constant nightmares of his dead daughter Ruby, the family that has been devastated and his own crippling experiences in the First World War. The once giant, imposing force is a mere shadow of his former self.
Visited by the twin sister of the long dead mother of Tommy’s oldest child, Tommy complicates the hellish chaos of his mind with the news that his son has taken the family gang – the Peaky Blinders – into very dangerous territory. The Blitz has not only been focused on London, but a nighttime bombing of Birmingham small arms plant has taken the lives of 53 young women working there. At the same time, the Nazis have unleashed a plot to win the war, destroying the British economy by flooding it with counterfeit bills. Both events are historically accurate. “Operation Bernhard” was concocted by the Nazis and eventually discovered and squashed by the British. The way Knight fictionalizes them and spins them together is the backbone of why Tommy Shelby leaves his self-imposed exile to reappear as the force behind the Peaky Blinders.
The story that emerges from this point is replete with the action and intrigue for which the entire series was so well celebrated. The effects, the engagement of so many of the stars who populated the series, the intense emotional struggles of Tommy, his son “Duke” played masterfully by Barry Keoghan and the headlong movement toward resolution is stunning. Good and bad blend together in ways that make the very lack of definition an important part of the elegant story.
There is a quote that has been often invoked to underscore how life moves forward, acknowledging that the past is past. “The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, / Moves on” is a famous quatrain from the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (Stanza 51). Fans … and they are an army … of “Peaky Blinders” will be encouraged that creator/writer Steven Knight has announced that the legend will continue, this time focused on the 1950’s in Birmingham and the way the city recovered from the devastation of the war. No cast has been announced, but the very fact that “Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man” does not end the Shelby family saga is enough to eagerly watch announcements from Netflix about what might, in fact, be happening.
And, it should be noted, for those who have not felt satisfied with the vast number of episodes and now this feature length film, there is a series of video podcasts on Netflix that begin with the release of “… The Immortal Man” and dive deep into characters, historic references, wardrobe, production elements and the creation of what is much more than a casual series. This, of course, “By order of the Peaky Blinders.”