Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man – Film Review
by Brian Merriman

Director – Tom Harper
Writer – Steven Knight
Stars – Cillian Murphy, Rebecca Ferguson, Barry Keoghan

Duration 1 hour and 52 minutes.

I am no Peaky Blinders anorak, but I have dipped in and out of its many successful seasons over the decade since it first hit TV screens in 2013. The Immortal Man not only concludes this epic screen work, but it also manages to stand alone as a film full of tension, atmosphere, effects and drama. It is quite a task to fittingly conclude an epic story, and in this, writer Knight achieves his task handsomely. Filmed in 2024, Director Harper and Knight grab your attention from the moment the plot unfolds. The pulsating contemporary soundtrack contrasts fittingly with the sense of wartime evoked throughout.

Set in a blitzed Birmingham, the locations, sets, props, lighting and attention to detail are quite stunning, under cinematographers George Steel and Ben Wilson and their teams. The tension-filled plot demands your attention from the outset in a mix of patriotism, financial espionage and destruction and of course, emotional flashbacks to the rich bounty of plotlines that guaranteed the success of the series over a decade.

Cillian Murphy’s ageless Tom Shelby is now living a reclusive life, reflecting on the consequences of his actions on him and his surviving family. People from his past call to get him to re-engage with his out-of-control son, another stand-out performance from Barry Keoghan as Duke. The blending of the gypsy heritage in Liverpool, which was also home to so many Irish, situates both stellar Irish actors perfectly, as they nail these father/son roles and continue to grip us throughout the almost two hours of a cinematic treat. If there is to be a spin-off or further sequel, then Murphy’s iconic torch has been handed over in style to Keoghan, whose dramatic range ideally suits the intense and contradictory role of abandoned son who resonates more with his absent father than he realises. There is more than culture in the Shelby bloodline.

As with so many good period pieces from UK cinema, they harvest the talent of a rich cohort of experienced character actors. Tim Roth is a powerful Nazi sympathiser, Packy Lee as John is a wonderful character study, and stars like Stephen Graham, Ned Dennehy, Rebecca  Ferguson and Sophie Rundle shine in a stellar cast, all whose presence adds so much to the layers of love, intrigue and loyalty that arrest your attention from start to finish in this quality production.

Jackie Abrahams and Tonja Schurman’s meticulous and evocative set decoration complimented by Alison McCosh’s striking costumes, adds to the authenticity that BBC films often achieve in recreating their historic past on screen.

Netflix is the driving production force behind this film, which will enlighten and entertain devoted fans and also ensure that any newbies will long to catch up with the TV series. Murphy, in the meantime, retains his dominant association with Peaky Blinders, now fittingly styled as The Immortal Man.