Boardwalk Empire - Season 1 Review
This review of Season 1 of Boardwalk Empire is spoiler-free!
The 20s were something else weren't they? For some god awful reason alcohol was illegal and corruption was abound in any and all places. I realize that this shouldn't come as a surprise due to the very slim regulations and lack of conviction by the powers at be, but it still comes off as crazy what was occurred in the past. Perhaps that is what draws me to series such as Boardwalk Empire so much. The realization that a country we are born and raised to recognize as great and honorable has never truly been such a high and mighty place. Seeing a story that depicts such a somber period in America, but as such a positive for many bad people is such a fascinating concept. Boardwalk Empire does just this, and creates great television in the process.
Series of this kind rely heavily on character, and Boardwalk Empire has plenty of standouts for this show, as the focus shifts multiple times throughout each episode. The most obvious standout is that of Enoch "Nucky" Thompson himself (Steve Buscemi). Nucky, from the very start, is the very kingpin of the entire market that revolves around Atlantic City. He may be just the county treasurer, but that doesn't mean he isn't in control. Steve Buscemi portrays a man with poise but more depth behind his facade extremely well. As learned throughout the first season through his interactions with another standout character in Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald), he has a lot more going on besides just this life as a criminal. While he shouldn't be viewed in a good light, it's too hard not to root for him. Speaking of Margaret, her role evolves throughout the season. Seeing her grow from a lowly housewife to a near kingpin of her own among the women is incredible. She takes her role in the community seriously and chooses to challenge Nucky at any chance possible regardless of their "relationship."
Another character that should be discussed because he has nearly as much screen-time as Nucky is Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt). Jimmy is disgraced by Nucky early on and sent on a journey of self-discovery for the majority of the season. This creates multiple different plots for the story to follow: Jimmy himself in Chicago meeting Al Capone and Richard Harrow (a great character whose role is not as large as I'd hoped, his mother's life without him, and his fiance's challenges without a man around. All of these arcs connect back to Jimmy himself and help to develop the character more. I won't speak into specifics but there is a connection made between Jimmy and someone else, which I can only believe leads into next season's plot. Seeing the people around him be so affected by what happened to him is compelling to watch.
The story of the season is rather simple. Revolving more or less around the multiple different other criminal organizations or federal groups of the east coast trying to take down Nucky, you get to learn about other people such as Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg) and Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon). While one of these plots is resolved in the first season rather nicely, the other continues into Season 2 and I can see being an even longer string. Being a starting point for the series makes Season 1 a bit tougher to chew on as there is a lot of world building occurring, but the fact that this is tackled so well only makes for better possibilities for Season 2.
While there are plenty of threads tide up neatly in Season 1 like stated previously, Boardwalk Empire leaves enough questions out there that Season 2 seems to be necessary television. The character of Nucky Thompson alone elevates it beyond usual standings. One quick thing to note though: this show is about character and as such action will be rather limited. This is something to be expected in a series like this and didn't make it any less enjoyable. Being one of the rather underrated series, in my opinion, on HBO allows me to give Boardwalk Empire's first season great praise. I can only hope for even better things to come going forward.
