Peaky Blinders is a British series created by Steven Knight. Broadcast since September 12, 2013 on BBC Two, it’s one of the most talked-about series! Fine and well thought-out, it sets its action in England, and presents the eventful history of a well-known gang of Irish travellers: the Peaky Blinders.
A scene from Peaky Blinders
The series follows the lives of a family of Birmingham gangsters known as the Peaky Blinders (the name derives from the fact that they hid razor blades in the visors of their caps). Of Irish descent, this gang is said to have been founded around 1919…
Their activities at the time consisted of trafficking in local horse races and betting, all under the leadership of the dangerous Thomas Shelby, an ambitious man shattered by his World War I experience in France.
But the gang’s illegal activities soon attract the attention of Chief Inspector Chester Campbell, a member of the Royal Irish Police under Winston Churchill. Chester Campbell, has been specially dispatched from Belfast to cleanse the city of all its criminals…
The series would then stretch over 6 seasons, with successive leaps in time and increasingly inextricable plots… sometimes pitting the gang against the police, sometimes against other gangs or thugs.
Peaky Blinders is a rather ambitious series, with a first-rate cast and a taste for impeccable, sophisticated imagery! Because the series isn’t just a simple format that follows the adventures of a gang of travellers…
We quickly fall under the spell of the sequence shots. Every shot, every framing, is well thought-out and polished. Here, there’s no room for chance with the handheld camera: the director offers a true spectacle, where each image has its own narrative and artistic interest.
A real feast for the eyes, immediately immersing us in the atmosphere of England’s industrial explosion, where steel, coal and dust naturally coexist in the daily lives of Birmingham’s English people.
Added to this is the series’ incredible soundtrack. Rock and roll music… The soundtrack is delightfully modern, lively and anachronistic. The result is a punchy, electric and powerful atmosphere.
Cillian Murphy – Maximilian Bühn – cc
But that’s without counting the series’ colorful characters, who add even more body to the program. Cillian Murphy plays Thomas Shelby, an intelligent, calculating man consumed by war and ambition, who knows only how to express himself through violence and manipulation.
He faces many enemies over the course of successive seasons… and pulls off many nasty tricks, all the while trying to keep his family under his authority.
Cillian Murphy’s acting talents are on full display here, as he portrays a tough, calculating man who is an authority figure, but who seems to lose himself completely in the values of right and wrong. Far from the triumphant Manichaeism of many moralistic series, Peaky Blinders depicts a man in pain, who, despite his humanism, sometimes seems to soften, sometimes to demonize… at the risk of losing all his bearings.
A true character composition, which confirms the finesse and mastery of Cillian Murphy, an actor of Irish origin who is the pride of his country.
But he’s not alone. The show’s other characters are also real nuggets, portrayed by actors of rare accuracy: starting with Thomas Shelby’s aunt “Polly Gray”, played by the late, talented actress Helen McCrory.
Closely followed by Arthur Shelby (played by Paul Anderson), who plays Thomas’s violent, tortured brother. A character on the razor’s edge, as touching as he is frightening, prey to constant inner questioning, torn between his true violent nature and the morals of the time.
The script is breathtaking and well-crafted, with constant echoes of England and the Ireland of those years, ready to explode in conflict with the British (the case of Northern Ireland is often discussed). We also talk a lot about Irish whiskey, and the history of travellers. This gives the series an appreciable Irish flavour.
Incidentally, it even gave ideas to a British distillery: Sadler’s Distillery. The company decided to open a distillery in County Cork, Ireland, to produce “Peaky Blinder Whiskey”, a 100% Irish whiskey, triple distilled in the traditional way on the Emerald Isle. It’s the perfect way to build on the success of the series and the story of the real gang that terrorized Birmingham in the 20th century!
Each season has its own plot, stretching over 6 episodes. Many VOD services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix offer the series in their catalogs.
It’s important to point out, however, that the series quickly departs from the gang’s true story. (The latter was not formed by a family, contrary to what the series presents… and the plot flirts a lot with fiction).
Whatever the case, the Peaky Blinders series is a must-see for anyone who appreciates high-flying television. Special mention goes to the quality of the images, the impeccable acting… and of course the story itself, which keeps us on the edge of our seats and leaves us frustrated by so much suspense at the end of each episode.
In short: a series that recounts the adventures of Birmingham’s thugs, their rise, their setbacks and their personal stories. A format reminiscent of another series, this one set in the present day: Sons of Anarchy! Come to think of it, the concept is pretty close: and we love it!
A man with an Irish cap – © stockcentral
It’s worn in almost every scene… The Irish cap has a predominant place in the Peaky Blinders series. This is a traditional headdress, typical of Ireland.
Often made from local tweed, the cap keeps your head warm, protects you from the sun and the rain… Still considered very elegant, it still has its place among the modern Irish population, and can be worn by all ages. Young and old alike are proud to wear this accessory!
And in this series, it has to be said: she’s everywhere! It was worn daily by gang members… who were said to have had the idea of concealing razor blades in the seams, to defend themselves in case of need. This would have made the Irish cap a true symbol of the gang… and a testament to their close ties with Ireland…
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