What is it about Peaky Blinders’ Thomas Shelby?
I’m a big fan of music and watch many shows solely for the soundtrack. I was reading a review of Peaky Blinders, the BBC series now streaming on Netflix, and it mentioned that the soundtrack was great and, specifically, that is had a lot of Jack White. The review went on to call Peaky Blinders one of the most violent series on TV. Generally nothing loses me faster. But I decided to check it out, at least the music. It was the pandemic and I was desperate.
The second episode of Season One had a fight scene choreographed to music that blew me away. It was gorgeous! I was hooked. I binged the entire five seasons, and was desolate when it was over. What now? I was loving hanging in the world created and scripted by Steven Knight and brought to life by a stellar cast.
Soon, after looking unsuccessfully for other shows, I realized, that it was Thomas Shelby I missed!
What is it about this character that is so riveting? Let’s have a look:
- He’s portrayed by Cillian Murphy. It quickly becomes apparent that no one else but Murphy could have managed this version of Thomas Shelby. He’s a mess of contradictions. He and the creator/director S. Knight, nailed the character from from Day One. As the character develops throughout the 30-some episodes, Murphy transforms the person we met at the beginning into what he’s becoming perfectly.
- He’s a commanding leader. He takes charge as necessary, often ignoring his own well-being. He’s creative in his approaches to problem-solving and he energizes his people (each various degrees of crazy) and makes each one feel essential.
3. He’s mysterious. I don’t think any of us could totally understand his convoluted mind or his many sides. His mind works in unique ways and it would be useless to try and guess what he’s up to.
4. He’s honorable. He looks out for those who rely on him, even when it puts him in a difficult situation. Or worse, when called for, he’ll put his life on the line. The war he recently came home from changed him, but he refuses to let it damage him. In his own strange way, he can be trusted.
5. He’s sexy. I’m not just talking about those hard to ignore blue eyes, but his outlaw nature. Outlaws, especially those great at what they do, are very appealing . Tommy may be tough, but he’s sensitive and attentive when it comes to women. And he respects them. No wait, I know that is arguable, but he takes the advice of many strong women from his aunt Polly, to a former sex worker, to a blonde beauty who a lesser man might see as a bimbo.
I know just enough about movie production to be annoying, and imagining all of the art, costumes, music decisions, script review (and changes), sound match-ups, location arranging, on and on, to put together 30 movies (!) is daunting. (If you don’t think so, just watch the documentary on the making of Game of Thrones.) How the cast and crew could produce thirty movies on this schedule is beyond me. I read that they produce the entire season in under three months.
Now I’m waiting for over a year for Season Six. Come on guys, how hard could it be? Get this done ASAP!
