Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Morena Baccarin, Sean Pertwee, Robin Lord Taylor, Erin Richards, Carmen Bicondova, Cory Michael Smith, Jessica Lucas, Chris Chalk, Drew Powell, Crystal Reed, Alexander Siddig, Anthony Carrigan, Maggie Geha, Peyton List, Charlie Tahan, David W. Thompson, Kelcy Griffin, Nathan Darrow, Michael Cerveris, Camila Perez, Michelle Veintimilla, Cameron Monaghan, Benedict Samuel, J.W. Cortes, John Doman, B.D. Wong.
These are dark times in the United States of America, and elsewhere it seems on the two adjoining continents as a whole, the rule of law has taken a turn for the insidious worst, the evils of fracking has turned towns and cities such as Flint into one a nightmare without fresh water, clowns and devils have taken society to the brink. Yet still there are those who will cry that it is not enough, that the belief in the inscription held out by a daughter of France as she looks out past New York and out into the Atlantic Ocean, “Bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…” is now a shadow, a deceit waiting to be chiselled off, to have graffiti sprayed over its meaning and replaced by a sentence that chills the bones, that should cause concern world-wide.
“Pity the country that needs heroes”, and fear for the world that doesn’t recognise it does.
A reflection of the times is always at hand in the arts, arguably the mirror we all need to look into and understand more often as we sit cowering but with comfortable faces showing insecure calm, a lie caught in our eyes that we sagely nod in approval of the toughness exhibited, never once noticing the cruelty being played out. For the United States of America in 2019 read Gotham on television, a microcosm, an illumination, of what is happening right now across the expanse of water and the state in which a city can descend if not checked and kept in balance.
With only one short season of episodes to come, it seems an embarrassing shame that Gotham has not caught the imagination of the public at large, especially when you consider the depth of characters that have been employed throughout the run of the series. It could be argued that this early insight into the legends and criminals of the D.C Universe is the most comprehensive of all the journeys into the realm of Batman, and aside from David Mazouz who portrays the young Bruce Wayne and Cameron Monoghan as The Joker, hardly a criticism as they are up against the dynamic Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger in the respective roles on screen, that each character is above and beyond anything that has been explored before.
This has been especially true of Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Crystal Reed as Sofia Falcone, Peyton List as the more destructive Ivy Pepper, Sean Pertwee as Alfred and Benedict Samuel as Jervis Tetch/Mad Hatter, these particular actors have made the part their own, and it seems entirely possible that their performances will be the bar that is set should any future films be made in the Batman/D.C Universe.
A serial that cannot command audience figures has always been under pressure to be dropped by its network, and yet there seems to be an abundance of stories that could have taken Gotham into the territory of illustrious status, and whilst the short fifth series will hopefully wrap up some of the more interesting story-lines, it will be one riven with the disservice shown by the network to keep this tremendously agile series going.
The Dark Knight is upon us, but perhaps even his protection has come too late; as Brecht exclaimed, “Let nothing be called natural in an age of bloody confusion.”
Ian D. Hall