 |
| The Penguin (Colin Farrell) looks on as Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) negotiates with Feng Zhao, head of the Gotham Triads. From 'The Penguin' Episode 3: Bliss. |
"Do you want to know what's shameful, Vic? Working your whole goddamn life and having nothing to show for it. You still think there's good and bad, right and wrong? There ain't. There's just this. Survival. Security. Pleasure." - The Penguin confronts his assistant Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) in Episode 3: Bliss
"Now there's a crack in the surface. Something dark is seeping through. We live in the land of the many, we live in the grip of the few. There's a poor girl crying for Justice, there's a rich man playing the fool. All the Wise Men longing for purpose, and they're all just looking to you.
So baby, you say that we're free, ahh, you've taken what you wanted from me. You've kept me down on my knees for so long, a victim of your broken belief, ahh." - Bob Moses, 'Broken Belief'
The Penguin (2024) Miniseries Imagines Oz Cobb's Climb from Gotham's streets to Become a Feared Mob Boss
To say The Penguin, an eight episode crime miniseries from 2024 is dark, would be an understatement. This show practically marinates in darkness, rolling around and immersing itself in the more pitchy shades of human interaction.
Executive Producers Lauren LeFranc and Matt Reeves re-imagine Bob Kane's iconic Batman antagonist as Oz Cobb instead of the more aristocratic Oswald Cobblepot. In their version of the story, Oz begins life as a child with a club foot in one of Gotham's neglected housing projects. Their story tells how Oz rises from obscurity to become a criminal kingpin.
Most of the heavy lifting, acting-wise, is done by Colin Farrell from underneath layers of prosthetic makeup. His scarred, gold-toothed, limping Penguin oozes ambition and calculation. Morality of the conventional kind plays no part in his worldview.
As the series begins it's only a week after the events of The Batman (2022) which saw Gotham's seawall destroyed, and mob boss Carmine Falcone assassinated. Entering the story, we find Oz looting his deceased boss's valuables from the Iceberg Lounge. He is caught in the act by Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen), the family's heir apparent.
Oz skillfully defuses the tension, and then invites Alberto to have a drink with him. During their conversation, Alberto makes the fatal mistake of disrespecting the Penguin and belittling his ambitions and childhood hero. For this, he is shot dead by Cobb.
This action sets the series in motion. As he plays two rival families (the Falcones and Maronis) in order to seize control of Gotham's underworld for himself, Oz Cobb veers between the extremes of complete triumph or terminal failure.
His principal antagonist, and the greatest obstacle to the throne, is Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti). She is Carmine's only daughter. Once the heir apparent and daddy's favourite, Sofia served a 10 year sentence at Arkham Asylum for murders she did not commit. And she has a history with Oz. Before her commitment to Arkham, Oz Cobb was Sofia's driver and muscle.
For many of the series 8 episodes, Oz and Sofia circle each other. Perhaps the best moment of the series occurs in Episode 3, when the two need to join forces to achieve a deal with the Gotham Triads. Director Craig Zobel skillfully plays with the emotional tension of Sofia and Oz's relationship. Moving from triumph one minute, to a long awaited apology from Oz the next, to the revelation (for Sofia) that Oz has been playing both families to his own advantage.
After this episode, the action moves toward an inevitable showdown between the Bad Guy and the Bad Woman.
Nobody is a hero in this story because the character motivations are entirely selfish - mostly revolving around money and power.
However, we do see a warmer, more human side of Oz Cobb in his interactions with Victor 'Vic' Aguilar, his Assistant. As well when he's caring for his ailing mother Francis Cobb (Deirdre O'Connell). Oz and Francis have a complicated backstory that concerns Oz's two deceased brothers.
Regarding Oz and his mother, their best moment occurs in Episode 2: Inside Man. At the family home, Oz puts on a record, then he and his mother slow dance to Dinah Washington's 'Tears and Laughter.'
Leaning into Oz's shoulder, Francis implores her son in a thick New York accent: "You promised me Oswald. I deserve a better life." To which Oz responds, "I'm workin' on it."
Oz Cobb is an anti hero for our time. From the decidedly American Gangster stereotype. See also the USA's current occupant of the Oval Office.
The Penguin can be watched on Amazon Prime Video, Crave TV, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
No comments:
Post a Comment