‘The Penguin’ Review: Gotham Gangster Goodness With A Delightful Colin Farrell

20 Sep 2024 by Erik Kain · Forbes

The PenguinCredit: HBO

The first episode of The Penguin really sets the tone: This isn’t really a Batman show, it’s a Gotham gangster series. This is The Sopranos with DC characters. Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot is Tony Soprano with a limp and gold teeth. He drives a plum sedan and listens to Dolly Parton when nobody’s listening. His hero is an old gangster from his childhood who helped people. They gave him a parade when he died. A parade.

I’m reminded a bit of the show Gotham when it first came out, or at least what I hoped Gotham would be. That was a series about Jim Gordon as a young man going to war at first with the Falcone family, but later with all manner of outlandish villains. Young Bruce Wayne had a part in that series. I’m not sure where The Penguin will go, but right now it only touches on the Caped Crusader briefly as we see news reports of The Riddler’s handiwork. That’s a good thing.

As for the titular character, Farrell’s performance is delightful. The prosthetics are incredible. I admit, when I first saw The Batman way back in 2022 I had no idea it was Farrell. He disappears not just into the fat-suit, but into the role. The gravelly New York accent, the gruff yet affable demeanour. He’s adorable, quite frankly. A big old softie. I’m deeply impressed with how well-drawn Cobblepot is already in just one episode. We see so many sides of the man: His idealism, his penchant for mercy, his cunning and ruthlessness. His musical tastes.

Spoilers for the series premiere (HBO and Max) follow.

The PenguinCredit: HBO

The first episode opens up just hours after the events of The Batman. Carmine Falcone is dead. The future of Gotham’s most powerful crime family hangs in the balance. Oz—as he’s referred to here—is just a low-tier mobster at this point, running ground operations for the Family. He runs into Falcone’s son, Alberto, in less than ideal circumstances and when their conversation over drinks takes a turn for the worse, he shoots him dead.

This is a surprisingly funny scene, cutting to the title card the moment Oz realizes what he’s just done, and the hot water into which he’s just plunged headfirst. He has to get rid of the body, and he catches some punk kids breaking into his car on the way out of his club. They run, but he catches one of them before he can escape. This is Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) who he ends up taking under his proverbial wing (instead of killing, which was his first impulse). This ends up being a wise act of mercy, as Aguilar ends up being a helpful ally by the end of the episode.

Oz is summoned to the Family’s estate, a sprawling manor in the nicer part of town, where he’s told they’re shutting down the factory where the Drops (a popular local drug) are manufactured. In a moment of panic, he reveals that he knows of a shipment coming to town soon that could change the organization’s future—a tidbit revealed to him by Alberto before he shuffled off this mortal coil. Unfortunately for our hero, Sofia Falcone hears this and realizes something is wrong. Only she and her brother knew of this shipment, and he hasn’t turned up today.

SofiaCredit: HBO

Sofia has only recently been released from Arkham Asylum where she was confined after being convicted for a series of serial murders. Her prior secret identity was that of the Hangman, a notorious serial killer and one of the character’s comic book stories. Cristin Milioti is perfect in this role. There’s one moment, after she and Oz have lunch, where she leans in and whispers “You know Oz, people underestimate you but not me. I’ve always known you were capable of more.” Her smile turns cold. Ice cold. Ominous music plays. She may not know, but she clearly suspects.

From here, Oz and Victor formulate a plan. They visit his mom, Francis Cobb (Deirdre O’Connell) out in the boondocks. She’s a bit off her rocker, but when she learns that he killed Alberto Falcone, a change comes over her. “This city is meant to be yours, sweetheart,” she tells him. “What are you gonna do to get it?”

Oz isn’t done with his visits just yet. He heads to prison for a conversation with Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown) a rival mob boss. He offers an alliance. They can work together to take down the Falcone family from the inside. Maroni isn’t interested. He doesn’t trust Oz. But when Oz delivers his old ring—pinched from Alberto’s corpse—the mafioso is taken off guard. “Maybe I’m more than what you think,” Oz tells him.

After a fun chase scene, Sofia’s goons bring Oz back to headquarters where she tortures him for information on Alberto. This is where we see the true marvel that is Farrell’s fat-suit. The detail is striking. You really can’t tell that it’s all prosthetics, though I am reminded of this hilariously awkward sketch from I Think You Should Leave:

This is also when Oz and Victor’s plan plays out. In the middle of his torture, there’s the sound of a car crashing outside. It’s the car they dumped Alberto’s body in, and when Sofia rushes out to see what happened, she discovers there’s no driver, just a concrete block on the gas pedal. Her brother’s body is in the trunk, its pinky finger missing, the word ‘PAYBACK’ scratched into the metal.

In the end, Oz and his little buddy sit and slurp down slushies—the mixed flavored ones, because they’re better—and dream big about the future. It’s kind of adorable.

All told, this is a terrific opening episode to this limited series and a great new entry in the shared Gotham universe that Matt Reeves started with The Batman. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’ve had high hopes. Farrell has quickly become one of my favorite actors in recent years, something cemented by his performance in Apple TV’s excellent noir series, Sugar. I’d love to see him in something with Gary Oldman. We’ll see where the show heads from here, but I’m in 100% invested at this point. Definitely give it a shot.

Here’s my video review:

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