TV Theory: Peaky Blinders Review (Week 3, Term 1)

Peaky Blinders (2013) was created by Steven Knight and stars Cillian Murphy as the main character Thomas Shelby, the leader of the Peaky Blinders gang in Birmingham, England, 1919. The gang have this name due to the caps they wear which have hidden blades sewn into the rims which were known to have blinded people when the gang attacked. The series airs on BBC 2 and is of the historical crime drama genre.

Analysis:

Mise-en-scene and cinematography

Mise-en-scene and cinematography are used well in this series for aesthetic purposes. For example, to convey the power Thomas possesses in Birmingham, when he rides down the streets on his horse, extras running to get out of his way and hiding are shown before a low angled shot causes the audience to have to look up at him. 

Lighting is also used to show the importance of Thomas as a bright key light often illuminates his face but his cap's rim sometimes covers his eyes, creating mystery and tension as some of his expression is hidden from the audience. However, the key light used is usually natural and fits with the time period the series is set in, such as in the image below where it appears that its source is the lamp.

Contrast is also used to make elements of the scenes stand out, such as the white background that the black horse Thomas is riding stands out against, creating an image of high contrast, emphasizing the importance of this element in the frame. 

This series also makes use of the rule of third and golden ratio, meaning that each scene is balanced usually centering the character in the scene who is speaking or, more often, the main character Thomas.

Other aspects of mise-en-scene and camerawork that this series makes use of are extreme close-up shots mainly to show items in the betting shop, such as in the second episode when there are lots of betting slips going back and forth and coins being piled onto the table. Colour is also used for symbolism in the first episode as even though much of the frames mainly feature the colour grey, there slight splashes of red, such as the powder, implying a threat of danger and violence because of red's link to blood. This is backed up by the fact that the caps the gang wear can be used as weapons. 

Review:

After watching the first two episodes of Peaky Blinders, I found that the series is good with historical accuracy which I found made it more interesting as it provided a glimpse into how Britain was in the time period this show is set in. My favourite part of the series was the aesthetics because of the varying angles of shots which are constantly changing the perspective, plus the costumes and lighting because of the impression of time period but also because both of these aspects help show the character's personalities. I also liked that some of the female characters are quite dominant as it helped the group of character's balance out instead of them being overpowered by the men, although I did think that most of the women characters were only there to help drive the men's story instead of to tell their own. However, I didn't enjoy the violence even though it was quick and helped show the story not tell it because I found that some of it was too over the top and not as subtle as it could have been. Overall, I liked most of the aspects of this series but probably wouldn't watch it normally because of the fact the female characters do not have their own agencies, and due to the violence.