Stylish misery with a loud soundtrack

Peaky Blinders built its reputation on three things: atmosphere, attitude, and Cillian Murphy looking permanently annoyed on horseback. The new Netflix film functions as an epilogue to the six-season series that ended in 2022. It gives fans more of what they expect - slick visuals, a pounding soundtrack, and familiar faces - while not always delivering the depth the show sometimes promised.

The essentials

  • Release date: Friday, March 20 (Netflix)
  • Cast: Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan, Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Sophie Rundle, Stephen Graham
  • Director: Tom Harper
  • Screenwriter: Steven Knight
  • Rated: R
  • Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes

The movie drops us into 1940, during the Midlands Blitz. Tommy Shelby is older, hollowed out, and mostly removed from the world he once ran. He lives alone on a crumbling estate, typing confessional pages on a typewriter and haunted by visions of his dead daughter. Arthur is absent, and the Peaky Blinders are fraying without a strong leader.

Tommy is dragged back into action by two women. Ada, now a local politician played by Sophie Rundle, arrives with news that the gang is in chaos. Kaulo, played by Rebecca Ferguson in a dark wig and an eerie accent, seems to carry Romani spiritual weight and may be connected to Tommy's son in ways the plot leans on rather than fully explains.

That son, Duke, is played by Barry Keoghan. The character was introduced late in the series as a child; Keoghan now embodies him as a dangerous, attention-hungry young man who has steered the Blinders into schemes that undercut Britain during wartime. Duke oversees thefts that include artillery and morphine intended for bombing victims, and he is being courted by John Beckett, a polite-seeming fascist played by Tim Roth. Beckett wants to flood the market with counterfeit German currency to wreck the economy, and he flatters Duke in ways designed to appeal to his need for approval.

Cillian Murphy and Barry Keoghan give strong, committed performances. Murphy remains magnetic as a man who has tried and failed to leave his past behind. Keoghan brings a volatile energy that makes the father-son dynamic tense and watchable. Rebecca Ferguson and Sophie Rundle are solid as the twin forces that pull Tommy back into the world.

Where it works

  • Visuals: The cinematography by George Steel is often gorgeous. Fog, stone, and cold light are framed in ways that make the setting feel tactile and specific.
  • Production design: Costumes, sets, and the overall look remain impeccably realized.
  • Performances: The cast sells the melodrama, especially Murphy and Keoghan.

Where it trips up

  • Script: Dialogue leans toward exposition and blunt beats. Scenes sometimes feel like they exist to move the plot forward rather than to deepen character.
  • Pacing: The film rushes through set pieces and emotional moments, as if eager to reach an appointed end.
  • Fan service: There is a sense of checking off familiar elements without always earning them.

Overall, the film is a handsome piece of gloom. It works best when you let the imagery and performances carry you. If you are hoping for the kind of layered storytelling that some episodes of the series attempted, you may come away wanting more. If you mainly want to see Tommy Shelby brooding in a new chapter and a showy turn from Keoghan, this will likely satisfy.

Immortal Man is stylish misery done on a high budget. The look and the acting bring it a long way, but the script does not always match the ambition of the production.