Boardwalk Empire: S01 Ep01 – Pilot

What happened?

It’s 1920 and Prohibition-era America is about to fall. Alcohol – the sale and consumption of – has been outlawed. Revelling in this news is businessman, Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, who is set to profit by running a smuggling operation that will import booze and then sell it at a high cost.

Nucky sets up links with counterparts in Chicago to arrange a deal but, when lower-ranking muscle from both sides decide to thwart the transaction, it becomes apparent that power and control of this new era is going to come at a ruthless cost.

Thoughts

Boardwalk Empire certainly came with a large entourage. I’d read about it long before it was released due to the trumpeted buzz of major production values, Martin Scorcese directing, and a reasonably high profile cast (all of the key players have been leads and co-stars in movies). It was also the flagship show to launch (in the UK) the Sky Atlantic channel. It can’t complain that it didn’t have hype or pre-release publicity – for a brand new show I can’t think of one that’s had more expectation dumped upon it.

If anything it’s the hype that has perhaps most dampened my enjoyment. If Boardwalk Empire had been a little more unassuming then I would have enjoyed it more – instead I expected to be blown away, and I wasn’t. The wow factor wasn’t present. Fair enough, it didn’t need to have it, it’s just the hype about budget and big stars and Scorcese directing made me expect more than I received.

Setting aside the disappointment, however, this pilot episode seems to have positioned various key characters in a turning point of American history that is rife with cops ‘n’ robbers, gangster action potential. Steve Buscemi as Nucky is clearly the central figure, but he’s got some way to go before he makes a compelling force that everything gravitates around. He’s no Tony Soprano. Weedy, ugly, and in various scenes he’s played for laughs – such as with the hotel assistant interrupting him during sex and him banging on the door when his squeeze has locked him out of the bathroom. Whilst he does warn that he shouldn’t be messed with his ruthlessness has a question mark over it for me.

Far more interesting were the two underling characters, Jimmy and Capone. Jimmy was the main focus. Not only does he have a dangerously cold view of life and death due to his experiences in the war (his remarks about how he was considered a hero for all his forays going into enemy territory spell out he is a man that cares little for his life and is efficient at taking other people’s). That he now appears to be also straddling both sides of the law mark him as a character mired in all manner of interesting circumstances – it’s unclear whether he really will be a rogue agent for the government as well as maintaining his criminal interests but I kind of hope he does.

The introduction of a young runt Al Capone was also good. I hope his is a character that is kept in the mix. When he went back to Chicago I kind of wished the show was actually about him; the story of how a young Capone worked his way up to the figurehead he became. If he remains a part of the show’s tapestry then great, it’ll be a strong plotline and character arc for the show to lean on.

There were other elements introduced but sidelined. Kelly MacDonald’s character, Margaret, the battered wife who had her unborn child beaten into stillbirth, was horrific. If anything this show let the tension drop and the viewers turmoil eased by having her husband beaten and killed early on; it would have been bold and provocative to allow his terrible deed to go unpunished, at least for now. I suspect the newly-widowed woman’s future now lies with Nucky who clearly has a soft spot for her.

Otherwise there was also the government’s police agents circling the criminal operation. Whilst the majority of them were portrayed as bumbling and idiotic, the one main guy (name forgotten) maintained a brooding, focused intensity that mark him out as a formidable antagonist for Nucky.

So, for a show that had over an hour running time it didn’t really bring the wow factor, and if anything it was somewhat talk-heavy. Even the much-touted recreation of prohibition Atlantic City didn’t particularly impress me, although I concede the show certainly looks like nothing else I’ve seen on TV and the attention to detail is sharp.

I think the point being made is that Nucky is unwittingly on the verge of a new era in what we consider gang-related crime. The old ways of conducting illegal activity have been blown apart by the new wave of hoodlum – Jimmy and Capone ushering in violence and double-cross that will become common practice. Prohibition-era America is about to experience relaxed inhibitions from those that have the stomach to take what they want however which way they can get it.

In a soundbite, Boardwalk Empire was billed as a 1920s-set The Sopranos. Well, it’s got a long, long way to go before it can hope to reach that kind of benchmark but, outside of all the hype, it’s laid down a solid start and it’s bristling with potential.

What was the best part?

The double-cross gunfight was nicely handled, with the close-up shotgun blast to the head being brutal and bloody. I don’t know why, but those old guns just always seem nastier and more damaging than 21st century weapons! Seeing Jimmy and Capone get trigger-happy and totally blow open the ‘cicvilised agreement’ both literally and metaphorically is the spark the show needs and will surely propel all manner of dramatic tangles and thrills.

What do I think will happen next?

At this stage I can’t really predict any kind of specific events I think will occur. I think this pilot episode has set up the situation and the general tone for the course of events. I envisage Nucky will have to balance controlling Jimmy’s violent activity with the new-found power he will gain. The lawmen will attempt to tighten the noose, and other gangsters will vie for dominance over the ‘boardwalk empire’ now emerging.