opening scene PenguinHBO’s batman The spin-off series, set in the comic book universe created by Matt Reeves, was so good that I watched it several times before moving on to the rest of the episode. Colin Farrow’s Penguin (who, oddly enough, had his name changed from Oswald Cobblepot to Ozzie Cobb in an attempt to “ground” the series) is mesmerizing in his first scene And manipulative, he only gets better from there, driving the show forward. Penguin Proceeding like a motor-mouthed machine, sometimes eliciting sympathy, sometimes disgust. Farrell is so effective you can almost hear his name ringing during next year’s awards season.
Penguin Recover immediately after an incident batman: Carmine Falcone dies, the Riddler floods Gotham City, and crime rises exponentially in the wake of the disaster. Sensing a power vacuum and knowing that Falcone’s drug-addled son Alberto is about to ascend to the throne, Oz immediately heads to the family’s nightclub, the Iceberg Lounge, to raid the safe. When he is discovered by an angry Alberto, he diverts his attention, expresses his condolences, and offers Carmine a glass of wine.
Oz manipulated Alberto effortlessly; within minutes the two of them were half-drunk, reminiscing about old Mafia gangsters, until he offered the troubled young man some “drops” – An anesthetic dropped into the eyes that induces a state of euphoria (or paranoia). When Alberto gets drunk, Oz tells him the story of the gangster who ruled his neighborhood in his youth, and how the entire community idolized the man and mourned his death with massive parades. But when Alberto begins to feel the anesthetic kicking in, instead of seeing Oz’s anecdote as a cute reminder of his father’s legacy, he (somewhat correctly, as you’ll soon learn) realizes that the infantryman wants to The desire to be promoted. So he began to laugh at him mercilessly.
Alberto sits in an armchair just a few feet away and launches a barrage of insults at Ozzy, so full of vitriol and hate that it makes you pity the poor guy – you can see he’s been faced with this countless times before situation, this endless barb based on his appearance. You see how it weaves its way into his soul, twisting him like gnarled tree roots and darkening his view of the world. Just when it all gets too much, when it seems like Alberto won’t stop, just when you almost beg for someone to step in and end it all, Oz casually pulls out a gun and points it at Al Beto fired several shots and barely moved. My mouth dropped, and “Oh shit” came out of my mouth so loudly that our managing editor, Caroline Pettit, looked up from her seat a few tables away.
Here’s what’s particularly striking about Farrell: Immediately afterwards, he lets out a cruel laugh. He defeated Alberto and silenced those who insulted his appearance, intelligence and honor. He holds the power. But the harsh laughter died on his lips, and realization flashed across his scarred face—this was the new boss of the Falcone crime family, and he had just shot and killed him in the club they owned. he. His eyes darted back and forth, and I saw a wave of emotions welling up inside me: frustration at his knee-jerk reaction, lingering anger at Alberto for driving him to violence, fear of the consequences.
“Oh, shit—” Ozzy lamented, his expletive punctuated by a bold title card: Penguin.
Farrell is this Good for the entire episode (and series, honestly). His voice, his face, his body are unrecognizable, and his total devotion to this twisted, tortured soul delivers a nuanced performance you rarely see in comic book series. In one scene he can make you burst out laughing (I choked on my coffee while complaining about the amount of pickles on his grocery store sandwich), and in another he can make you despise him for being manipulative A young, impressionable child followed his orders. This is an absolute masterclass in acting, a joy to watch and only gets better.
Penguin The second episode airs Sunday, September 29 at 9pm ET on HBO.
