So I’m not sure how many of you out there were able to watch the premiere of the HBO miniseries based off of Matt Reeves’ version of the Penguin; but for those of you that haven’t, just let me say this: If this show manages to keep up this level of quality for its entire run, it’ll be worth cashing in that free month (or week – whatever it is nowadays) trial just to check it out.
So far, it’s that good.
The show picks up maybe a week after the movie (The Batman, for the six people that haven’t seen it yet), and we find our eponymous protagonist attempting to salvage some blackmail material and gems from Carmine Falcone’s loft above the bombed out remains of the Iceberg Lounge.
Confronted by the son of the deceased mob boss (who’s there for the same reason), Oz shoots the man dead, providing the inciting incident for the rest of the show.
I’m not going to go into a plot synopsis – since I think you should actually watch it, rather than read about it – so suffice to say that the show’s plot gets started on solid footing.
What I really want to talk about are all the intangibles that the episode brings to bear. After all, even the most well-constructed plots can fall on their face if nothing else about the content works.
First, let me just say that the cast plays their roles perfectly. Colin Farrell (who somehow became one of the best actors currently working in Hollywood) delivers a standout performance that sees him completely merging with the role – almost as if it was entirely designed for him.
I’ll be honest, when I first heard about his casting, I (and many others, it seems) thought he was completely wrong for the role. Then I saw production photos and wondered why the hell anyone would cast a Hollywood pretty boy only to slather him in eighty pounds of makeup.
Turns out that I was completely wrong.
Farrell plays Oz to letter perfection, flawlessly portraying that old-school gangster, while also managing to show (rather than tell, thank Christ) that there’s more to him than one might originally suspect.
Yes, he’s a bad guy, but even in this one episode, you learn that there’s a reason for the way he is. Every scar, every gold tooth, every hobbled step has a reason for being there, and I can’t wait to learn what those reasons are.
Then, completely out of left field, comes Cristin Milioti, playing the recently released from Arkham Sofia Falcone. This woman rocks this role.
Even though we haven’t seen too much of her yet, Milioti portrays the quiet insanity of Sofia with the kind of intimacy one would generally only expect from personal experience. Within the first thirty seconds of her appearance on screen, you can see the deeply troubled woman beneath the veneer of stability that her stay at Arkham shellacked over her.
She’s nuts. She wants to be nuts. But she knows she has to keep up appearances.
And what can I say about Clancy Brown that hasn’t already been said across the decades of his legendary career? I can only hope that we get much more of him in future episodes.
Rhenzy Feliz (the new kid on the block) plays a street kid who’s been shanghaied into Oz’s service. Though it might be a bit early to render judgement, I’m liking what I’m seeing of him so far, and I’m looking forward to seeing him fall into the waiting arms of the city’s underworld.
Next, I want to talk about the feel of this version of Gotham. This isn’t the gothic insanity of Tim Burton or Joel Schumacher. It isn’t the cold sterility of Christopher Nolan. This is the grime-filled, neon-laced perfection that is the closest we’ll probably ever get to the feel of the 90’s cartoon (the best version of Gotham, in my opinion).
You can almost watch the city heaving its cancer-riddled, rattling final breaths as its inhabitants scramble to survive. It’s a city that’s always raining – even in the sunshine – and no matter what time of year it is, you always have to beware the biting cold. Narrow streets, slathered in graffiti, play host to the have-nots trying to get a couple of bucks for their next hit of “drops” – the in-universe drug of choice.
It is the perfect (yes, I know I’m using that word a lot, but it’s warranted in this instance) backdrop for a crime drama that runs the gamut from the height of the criminal underworld down to its infected roots.
In short (well, not really short, I suppose), this show is off to a killer start, and is one of the few instances lately (Goosebumps was the only other show in recent memory) where I’m willing to wait a week to see what happens next.
The Penguin has come out of the gates fucking suh-wingin’, and I sincerely hope that they’ll be able to keep up the momentum they’ve created so far.
Definitely check it out if you get the chance.
And now for something completely different:
People are giving the show flak for changing Penguin’s name to Oswald Cobb (as opposed to Oswald Cobblepot – the canon name). Even a year ago, I would’ve been right on board this bandwagon, wondering why people have to change established canon for seemingly no reason at all. However, as I get more into the idea of a multiverse (not the MCU one, fuck that shit), I can honestly say I understand the change.
This is not the traditional representation of the Penguin – the old money outcast with a penchant for theatricality and umbrellas (though I do want to see this version using an umbrella. Just once, just for a minute, okay?). This is a by-the-bootstraps gangster that’s fighting to make a name for himself.
This type of shifting of backgrounds is why I eventually came to terms with Matt Reeves changing the Riddler’s name to Edward Nash. This version isn’t the egomaniacal douche that’s more concerned with proving his own intelligence than actually accomplishing his goals.
Yes, he’s highly intelligent – but he doesn’t wallow in it the way that, say, Jim Carrey’s version did in Batman Forever (definitely check that one out, if only for the Jim Carrey/Tommy Lee Jones dynamic), or the way the Arkham series’ version did.
These guys are more adjacent to their comic book counterparts than tried-and-true depictions. And that’s okay – if only for the reason that they have been written very well.
That’s it. Rant over. I’ll see you guys on the next one.
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