Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
The iconic TV series takes to the big screen in a handsome if plodding conclusion.
Family business: Cillian Murphy
Photo by Robert Viglasky, Courtesy of Netflix.
by JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
“Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father, the son, and children shall rise up against their parents. Mark, chapter 13, verse 12.” So reads Tim Roth to Barry Keoghan’s Duke Shelby, the latter being the volatile scion of Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby and heir to the Peaky Blinders’ family business. One of the strengths of Tom Harper’s big-screen off-shoot of the iconic TV series is the casting. In his day, Tim Roth was one of the scariest figures of British cinema, etching unforgettable malefactors in TV and film, before moving on to Hollywood via Reservoir Dogs, Little Odessa, Pulp Fiction and Rob Roy. Today, the scariest actor of his generation would appear to be Barry Keoghan and seeing both actors face off in this Brummie gangster epic recalls the meeting of Pacino and De Niro in Michael Mann’s Heat (1995).
Tim Roth is back to his nefarious ways here as John Beckett, a double-agent in the employ of the Nazis commissioned to flood Britain with £350 million of counterfeit banknotes in order to crash the economy. The year is 1940 and Birmingham is taking a pummelling at the hands of the Luftwaffe, while Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) has hung up his peaked cap to retire to a crumbling mansion in the countryside to write his memoirs. Seeing Murphy in professorial specs and greying hair is a shock, while his eldest son, Duke, is taking care of business in the city and making the most of the war effort. As unscrupulous as Tim Roth’s John Beckett, Duke is stealing arms intended for British soldiers on the front line and is hellbent on continuing the Shelby empire for his own material gain. Beckett recognises a kindred spirit and offers Duke £70 million to help him distribute the counterfeit dosh via the canals of Birmingham and beyond.
With its themes of betrayal and family and its scenes of shootouts and men on horseback, The Immortal Man feels more like a Western than a war film, although the bombs falling on Blighty are never far off. And, as with Steve McQueen’s Blitz, it’s a stark reminder that not everybody cared about the war effort. Here, the production values are the thing and often the film feels more like an extended commercial (or music video) than an actual movie, with a meticulous attention to period detail and a sense of posturing grandeur. The director Tom Harper is good at generating key moments of suspense, such as when Tommy walks into a pub packed with English servicemen and with brazen insouciance turns off their music and asks for the landlord. Even at gunpoint, Tommy doesn’t flinch and only the locals (who know better) slither out of sight. We know what is coming and it is this scene that ascertains Tommy’s command over his domain.
If production design and cinematography alone were the marks of a great film, The Immortal Man should take its place alongside, say, The Long Good Friday, Mona Lisa and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in the canon of British gangster movies. However, there’s not actually that much going on and after a while the posturing begins to get a wee bit tedious, as do Tommy’s frequent visions and flashbacks designed to enlighten those unfamiliar with the franchise. On its own, the movie doesn’t amount to much and while Barry Keoghan provides us with another memorable screen villain, the overall lack of momentum and excitement is more than a disappointment.
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Sophie Rundle, Barry Keoghan, Stephen Graham, Packy Lee, Jay Lycurgo, Ned Dennehy, Ian Peck, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis.
Dir Tom Harper, Pro Steven Knight, Cillian Murphy, Guy Heeley, Caryn Mandabach and Jimmy Tandel, Ex Pro Tom Harper, Screenplay Steven Knight, Ph George Steel, Pro Des Jacqueline Abrahams, Ed Mark Eckersley, Music Antony Genn and Martin Slattery, Costumes Alison McCosh, Sound Saoirse Christopherson and Andy Kennedy, Dialect coaches William Conacher and Elspeth Morrison.
Garrison Drama/Nebulastar/BBC Film-Netflix.
111 mins. UK. 2026. UK and US Rel: 20 March 2026. Cert. 15.
