Welcome world, to ... Skiffle Gothic.
PENNYWORTH is the new series from EPIX which goes even further into the past of DC's Batman, from the creators of GOTHAM.
(reviewed up to S1E7)
Supposedly covering the story of how Bruce Wayne's butler met Bruce Wayne's father, this isn’t just a ‘prequel about Batman’s butler’ as it is specifically about a particular version of that character, created by two Brits, Christopher Nolan and Micheal Caine.. and continued to some extent by Heller and Shawn Pertwee (two more Brits) in GOTHAM. It’s very difficult to see this Pennyworth as the early years of Gough's character in the Burton films or any version prior to that.
Even the most recent movie incarnation of Alfred, played by Jeremy Irons, seems far more Downton Abbey than the Caine/Pertwee/Bannon version, who is far more of a ex soldier with an interesting past then Mr Carson.
We are told the forthcoming JOKER film (similarly inspired by Nolan's take on Batman), the pleasure is in how it doesn't directly connect to the comics and I feel there is some of that here. The setting is 90% of the enjoyment of PENNYWORTH. London in the DC Universe is a fascinating place, simultaneously 1950s-60s-70s - and is some way away from Harold Wilson and The Beatles. In this world we have televised public executions sponsored by the nation's favourite tea and a 'German Reich' is promising to give a degree of autonomy to the Netherlands.
Oh yes, this is an alternate reality, which British viewers will find parts of this distracting. Heller and Cannon Smart enough to put that constant signifier of an alternative reality- the airship- prominently in the opening titles and the occasional location shot.
In this alternative reality, travellers across the Atlantic have to deal with a brutal right wing state with morals from a previous century. It's a real switch from our world. Britain is in near civil war, with a right wing Raven Society having street battles with a left wing No Name League while what looks like a Macmillan era government looks on with mild disinterest.
If you think a plot of right wing coups against parliament as being a little far fetched, you might think differently after Season 3 of The Crown, covering the 1970s, airs this November - and maybe you should watch current affairs more
Gotham creators have obviously been watching some of the great true crime thrillers of the 1980s (usually directed by the great Peter Medak) which cover this period such as
DANCE WITH A STRANGER,
LET HIM HAVE IT,
THE KRAYS and
SCANDAL. These in their original form are pretty much
Skiffle Gothic as is and Heller and Cannon just run with that. I'm presuming some of the crazier stuff, like the Ripper crime family, is at least inspired by the comics. Be warned for those with kids some of this is really gory, with potentially disturbing sexual content, up there with GOT, it would definitely have been X-rated back in the day.
No less ridiculous than Absolute Beginners and a hell of a lot more interesting. There is a certain sadistic pleasure in seeing the cast of Heartbeat in something like Star Trek's MIRROR MIRROR reality. Some British viewers will find parts of this distracting - notably Paloma Faith as Mira Hindley type gangster is going to be a big turn off for anyone over a certain age in the UK. Also the history of this other world bothers me constantly. Was there a WW2? There is a German Reich... Does this mean the DC Universe - Superman, Wonder Woman etc - at least as far as Europe goes, is MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE?
Amidst all this European grimness Thomas Wayne, future father of Bruce, is full of Kennedy era (?) optimism - “In 20 years Gotham City will be the Zurich of the Eastern Seaboard!”
It's very well shot, with a meanness and mood that alternates between noir and gothic and a nice hint of old ITV adventure shows, especially about the opening titles and theme. Individual episodes pop up with nice references to AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and even THE WICKER MAN. My favourite is at a hospital straight out of a Ken Russell film where we meet 'Baroness Orczy' - a long overdue nod to the woman creator of the first masked hero, the
Scarlet Pimpernell, and she's played by British National Treasure Felicity Kendal as a black magic Hannibal Lector.
(It probably helps to be a fan of GOTHAM to deal with this kind of shock).
Enthusiasts for period detail could have enough entertainment just spotting the Daimler’s, Fords and Rovers. As the interiors grow to include the genteel homes of far left and far right leaders even design cues and locations from A CLOCKWORK ORANGE start to appear. You might have seen this sinister decor in HIGH RISE, but it's no less creepy here, lit often like a tomb.
What often makes the difference in tv such as this is the casting, which is pretty much spot on, Bannon could really be doing a long flashback of Caine's character from THE DARK KNIGHT. This is a star making turn from Mr Bannon - I’m going out on a limb and predict that he will be the next Bond after current replacement.
Among some the other casting I have to highlight Anna Chancellor, playing a cozy gun toting Oswald Mosley fascist insurrectionist.
Pennyworth could be restrained, properly period and cool, like Portishead's Glory Box brought to life, but GOTHAM's creators can’t resist the pull of the vaudeville. Some might find that a bonus, that in these superhero saturated times PENNYWORTH has enough theatrical Sweeney Toddery to take itself a lot less seriously than most features actually set in the standard world of The Dark Knight.
At its most bonkers the world this series creates has a hint of Terry Gilliam - and I can't honestly find a better recommendation than that.
Admission - I preferred the first episode of now cancelled KRYPTON to the first episode of the current media darling PEAKY BLINDERS. Also GOTHAM was ultimately a bit too much like a musical gone wrong for me, so I had low expectations for this.
