On paper, Boardwalk Empire sounds like a series which I could not judge fairly. A period drama about corruption in the Atlantic City government during the Prohibition Era? Starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Stuhlbarg and Michael Shannon? The first episode directed by Martin Scorsese? This, ladies and gentlemen, would be the result of Leonardo DiCaprio’s team from Inception entering my subconscious and discovering my ideal television show.
All in all, I was not to be disappointed. Sure, the series may not be the greatest thing on television, and it never quite reached the heights that the first episode seemed to promise, but when I look back on the first season my memories are fond. The pace is deliberate, and there may be a less-than-satisfying setup-to-payoff ratio, but as a piece of television I defy you not to appreciate it.
The problem, perhaps, was that the series never quite lived up to the pilot. After all, it was directed by Martin Scorsese, one of the greatest directors of all time. The rest of the episodes, well, just weren’t. That’s not a knock on the direction as a whole, but Scorsese is a tough act to follow. Re-watching the pilot for the purposes of this post, it all just feels more vibrant and alive than the series that was to come.
The premise: Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (Steve Buscemi), treasurer of Atlantic City, is one of the most powerful and corrupt politicians in the area. He begins the pilot addressing the Temperance League, denouncing the evils of alcohol (“Liquor, thy name’s delirium!”) but just a few minutes of running time later he’s drinking it up with the rest of his Atlantic City cronies, describing his plan to keep the alcohol flowing into town.
From there we enter a world where no man is righteous, particularly in this town, undoubtedly a land saturated with sin. Everyone and everything on the boardwalk puts on a mask so that it may appeal to the passers-by, and Nucky Thompson is no exception. When interacting with a voter, he evaluates what kind of person they would vote for, and he adopts that personality.
Of course, he would not have gained his current level of power if it weren’t for the lackies around him. First and foremost, there is Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt), a young World War I veteran who has yet to get over his brutal experiences fighting for his country. As such, he returns to America prone to outbursts of violence. Eventually he finds a buddy in the even more violence-prone Al Capone (Stephen Graham) an up-and-coming young Chicago gangster who just might be destined for some infamy. Also key in the series is Nucky’s brother Elias (Shea Whigham), sheriff of Atlantic county.
Such a series would not be complete without a pure, innocent woman for the world to corrupt, and this comes in the form of Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald). She began as a pregnant woman married to a pervasively abusive husband, but eventually she become’s mistress to Thompson. She’s a perfect illustration of what attracts people to a more illicit lifestyle, and the first season chronicles her transformation.
Boardwalk Empire does an impressive job of balancing the workings of the illegal liquor business and the personal drama unfolding on the home front, though the first season seemed to traffic heavily in the latter. Thompson finds himself battling gangs from both Chicago and New York, and while the resolution of these conflicts in season one may be less than wholly satisfying the characters introduced where incredibly fascinating. Key among them is Arnold Rothstein (A Serious Man’s Michael Stuhlbarg), who finds himself locking horns with Nucky early and often while balancing accusations that he fixed the World Series.
Looking back at the first season of Boardwalk Empire, it becomes obvious that slowly but surely it created a whole that was greater than all the individual parts. Yes, the eleven episodes that came after the pilot may have been a little too ponderous for their own good, but it may be beneficial to revisit the series on DVD, where one can watch the episodes quickly. While a great deal was often at stake, Scorsese’s episode was the only one that made you feel the gravity of the situation. For the most part, the production designers and the actors do most of the heavy lifting. These days, it’s vital for a show to end each episode with a bang, and Boardwalk Empire never did that, but instead choosing to end with relatively obvious character moments. Lucky for the writers and directors, the cast was usually able to sell them.
One of the most engrossing characters (particularly of late) was agent Van Alden (Michael Shannon), who doggedly chases the wrongdoers of Atlantic City, but in the process he comes close to unraveling. He hides behind his devotion to religion, but struggles even with that as time goes on. At first Shannon seemed merely like a stuck-up goody-two-shoes, but there was much more to it.
Despite my many quibbles with the first season of Boardwalk Empire, I could not be more excited for the future. The finale wrapped things up a little too neatly, but in a way I think it cleans the slate of many first season problems. Again, I must emphasize that I very much enjoyed this show, but I don’t feel it was quite able to reach the expectations that the brilliant pilot promised. I hope a few more risks are taken next year, and I'm anxious to see how these characters react when the walls start closing in.
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