The Penguin is a thrilling crime drama and character study
Television review - HBO/Max
As I mentioned in my review of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, I am a long-time Michael Keaton fan. Even through the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale years, my allegiance remained to Michael Keaton as the best Batman. But like many others, I absolutely fell in love with The Batman from Matt Reeves, and I’ve been anxious to see more from that universe. So I was excited to be able to watch the upcoming HBO Max show, The Penguin, ahead of its release on September 19.
The series picks up directly in the aftermath of the film. However, we now see the areas of Gotham that were affected by the destruction of the sea walls. The aftermath of the destruction has left much of the city in chaos.
What has left the criminal structures of Gotham in chaos is the death of Carmine Falcone. With the power vacuum in the Falcone family, the release of Sofia Falcone from Arkham Asylum puts everything into even greater flux. Oswald Cobb pledges to help her find her place in the hierarchy of the criminal underworld. But the Penguin has plans of his own for how to move up in the crime world in Gotham, and the bulk of the series is centered on his schemes to grab more power.
Like The Batman, this version of The Penguin feels very grounded and real. There is nothing especially cartoonish or outlandish about this character or the world he inhabits. He achieves his characteristic “waddle” as the result of a club foot. Colin Farrell is in heavy makeup, making him utterly unrecognizable, but he ultimately is just a guy, not a comic book villain-looking character.
The same is true of Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone. The series explores the trauma of growing up with Carmine Falcone as her father and how she was the constant scapegoat for the numerous sexist machinations of his reign. While this is obviously a series based on comic book characters, it feels a lot more like a season of The Sopranos. Yes, it’s all a little over the top, but in the way any gangster-type story is a little over the top.
The entire ensemble is all quite good, but I want to highlight four performances of note. Deirdre O’Connell is absolutely phenomenal as the penguin’s mother, Francis. She helps to humanize an otherwise loathsome character while also having somewhat of an arc of her own. She is an excellent example of what it is like to raise a child who isn’t what you hope for but who you still love simply because they are your child.
Aiding in that humanization is Rhenzy Feliz as Oz’s number two, Victor Aguilar. He helps the audience connect to Oz in a way that we might not be able to otherwise, helping us gain a deeper understanding of Oz’s caring and his cruelty. Feliz delivers an achingly beautiful performance, and people will absolutely be talking about his character when the show ends.
Milioti, as Sofia, does an impressive job playing a character who is struggling to find her place in the male-dominated world that she inhabits. She showcases strength and weakness, pivoting from being a stone-cold killer in one moment to someone duped by those under her the next. She carries both literal and metaphorical scars from her time in Arkham, and both are visible.
But the standout is, of course, Colin Farrell. He utterly disappears in the makeup of Penguin, but despite playing an absolutely odious character, he was still able to make me cry for that same character in the finale. It is a masterful performance from the moment he steps on screen until the final shot.
One of the things that is most impressive is that this feels very much like a show in the Batman universe, but Batman is never mentioned. That said, his absence is not missed. This show is about Oz Cobb, and he remains at the front and center.
Overall, this is a wildly entertaining and gripping crime drama. The storytelling is tight, and the characters are well-developed. Showrunner Lauren LeFranc has a success here. If you were a fan of The Batman, you’re going to be a fan of The Penguin.
The limited series comes to HBO and Max on September 19.
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