'Boardwalk Empire' - Boardwalk Empire, Season One

Boardwalk Empire

Season One

Episode One

'Boardwalk Empire' – 8.5

To call the first episode of prohibition drama Boardwalk Empire grand is to call a snail slow. it is reported that the production of this one pilot cost around eighteen million dollars, making it one the most expensive episode of television ever produced. It doesn't take long to see where the money has gone; the costumes are immaculate and - I believe - realistic, some big names have signed on to act and of course, Martin Scorsese himself is directing.

While I won't say that an expensive production automatically makes a television show worth watching, the money has clearly gone to the right places to make Boardwalk Empire - also the name of the episode itself, I might add - a true marvel that needs to be both witnessed and heard to truly experience. A particular sight to see is the Atlantic City boardwalk, which was largely reproduced to the exact 1920s measurements, with the rest painstakingly rendered in CGI so that you cannot physically tell where the wood ends and where the pixels begin.

It's odd then that the title sequence is not particularly striking or original. Really, it's just Steve Buscemi in character as protagonist Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson standing on the beach in front of the boardwalk as waves crash and recede, carrying empty wine and liquor bottles with them, all to the tune of some electric guitar rubbish. I didn't know they had electric guitars then.

The episode itself is loaded with colourful characters aside from Nucky himself. There is Jimmy Darmody, a veteran who fought in the Great War as well as his wife and son. Margaret Schroeder, a mother of two with one on the way, lives at the mercy of an abusive, gambler husband. There are crime bosses from other cities; Arnold Rothstein, Big Jim Colosimo, Johnny Torio; as well as their assistants and henchmen, including Lucky Luciano, Rothstein's right-hand man; and Al Capone, who is from Torrio's crew. Nucky has a woman in his life, Lucy Danziger, and a brother, Eli, the sheriff of Atlantic City. Nucky himself is the treasurer, and as corrupt as they come. Of course there are a lot of smaller bit players whose names I can't be bothered remembering right now, but the point is there are a lot of characters here, and they all have their roles to play.

Every minute brings new characters or plot points, with the first big one being the beginning of the Volstead Act which basically brings Prohibition into effect. The scenes preceding are an ode to alcohol and to 1920s culture, with the music, costumes and sets exactly how one would have thought the era famous for its organised crime to look. A particularly fascinating little addition was the coffin designed to look like a liquor bottle, which was both intricate and meaningful. The amount of detail and work that has gone into every second here is so clear; script, cast and art direction are without flaw. I just love the aesthetic of this show.

Out of the many storylines that erupt over the course of the episode, the most moving belongs to Margaret Schroeder, who initially goes to Nucky for help finding her dead-beat husband a job for the tourist season. Nucky is a bit of a softy for charity cases, especially when they are in the form of a soft-spoken Irish-accented pregnant lady, so he gives her a nice wad of cash to tide her over. Next thing we know her husband is in Nucky's illegal casino, betting away what his wife had just received and earning himself a good beat-down. In his own retaliation he assaults Margaret, and in a horrible scene of realization we come to know that he has cost her the life of her (and his) unborn child. Kelly MacDonald is unconvincing in her first scene, kindly asking Mr. Thompson for his aid, but when it comes to the tougher stuff - the things we hope we never have to experience - MacDonald shines.

Towards the end of the episode, and accompanied by the dramatic wailing of an Italian aria, Hans Schroeder is murdered by the Sheriff and his colleague at Nucky's behest, while an unknown assailant violently ends Big Jim Colosimo. Where these two obviously pivotal moments will go is beyond me, but this isn't looking like one of those simplistic dramas that one can simply tune in and out of.

I love the characters and their complexity, along with the theatric music, composition and cinematography. Sadly, the plot is rendered far too complicated by the massive group of realistic and well-drawn characters, even if they themselves are fantastic. I can only hope that the coming series is much less convoluted.