“We all have to decide for ourselves how much sin we can
live with.”
The Sopranos veteran Terence Winter, enlists the aid of
Martin Scorsese and Mark Wahlberg to bring his fantastical vision of Boardwalk Empire to
life. Inspired by Atlantic City crime
kingpin Enoch L. Johnson's reign in the 1920's during the Prohibition in New
Jersey, the series takes pages right out of history and inserts a few of it's
own for dramatic purposes. The oddly
charismatic Steve Buscemi takes the lead role as the corrupt and powerful
treasurer, Nucky Thompson, who despite all the terrible things he does you
can't help but cheer on. Michael Pitt,
Kelly MacDonald, Michael Shannon, Michael Kenneth Williams and Dabney Coleman
round out the fantastic cast who all seem to disappear into their roles with
graceful ease.
Most folks seem quick to compare Boardwalk to The Sopranos,
simply because it’s an HBO series about organized crime run by a former writer
of the modern classic series. In fact, unlike The
Sopranos, Boardwalk almost immediately gives off the feeling of a much
larger scope and aspiration to explode into something far more precisely
executed. Like Deadwood, it meshes
fictional characters with the non-fictional which is quite interesting, however the potential of being a speedbump in the future. Taking a page out of The Wire's writing style, Empire never stops or slows down to
explain to the viewer who each character is, instead it assumes we're smart
enough to keep up and allows it to unfold as the series dives deeper into the
story.
With some beautiful cinematography, wonderful music,
mesmerizing actors and believable sets, Boardwalk Empire is instantly
likeable. With that said, I can't help
but be disappointed the series never takes any real risks or chances, considering the
subject matter and the fictional storytelling based in a real world. A gangster HBO series created by a Sopranos
writer produced by Scorsese and starring Buscemi has a lot to live up with
those names alone and it nearly does. I
suspect this first season is just the beginning and it shows promise of
becoming something I can't wait to see.
12 episodes. Roughly 50-60 minutes each.
Buyer's Guide:
Available in both DVD and Blu Ray box sets. Also available from iTunes, Netflix and Amazon Instant Video.
Available in both DVD and Blu Ray box sets. Also available from iTunes, Netflix and Amazon Instant Video.
3½ Alcohol Funerals out of 5
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