“It’s always the same in any orchard. You plant your trees. The trees grow tall. Then sooner or later they begin to get mangled, and before you know it the apples start to rot. And that, Harry, my son, is pruning time.”
There’s nothing like a good mob drama on television/streaming. Sometimes there ends up being some drama that wasn’t quite scripted but gets plenty of a show’s attention. That’s exactly what has happened with Guy Ritchie’s attempt at the long form of television/streaming. This one has to do with the cast. It’s a pretty big deal … unless it isn’t. Mobland has had some of the best streaming numbers in the history of Paramount +, but that’s not what brought it to the attention of the news cycle. There has always been talk that Tom Hardy is a difficult actor to deal with. The talk was intense after Mad Max Fury Road when Charlize Theron made some accusations and will reportedly be unwilling to work with him again. No one really gave it much mind, because feuds happen in this business all of the time. But when word came out that Hardy was being fired for the upcoming third season of Mobland, it was noticed. The accusations were that he was abusive on the set, rewrote scripts, and worst of all, would hide out in his trailer, making everyone else wait for him. In this case co-star Helen Mirren quickly came to Hardy’s defense. She wrote that she adored him and that she did not have any trouble with him on the set. Before long Paramount had backed down from anything they might have been considering, and it was just as quickly announced that Hardy would absolutely be back for the third season. The truth is somewhere in the middle, I’m sure. What I do know for certain is that Mobland’s complete first season is now out on DVD, and I had the opportunity to look it over. After seeing the first episodes, I’m hopeful that Hardy remains. The show has a terrific dynamic, and it would be sad if it changed. Actually, it would be more than sad; it would likely be the end for the series.
“All right, my friend. Let’s begin.”
Move over, Potter; there’s a new Harry running things in the UK. I’m talking about Harry Da Souza. He’s a “fixer” for the Harrigan criminal family. The family is run by Conrad Harrigan, played by former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan. His wife, Maeve, played by Helen Mirren, is actually the one who is really pulling the strings, and Conrad really thinks he’s calling the shots. The series was originally intended as a spin-off from Ray Donovan. Harry is pretty much in the same business as Ray was. At some point it was decided to cut those ties, but it’s still easy to see how this might have fit into that world. The truth is that Mobland became what I always hoped Ray Donovan would have been. That show started by showing Ray’s “fixer” chops, but it became more about his own family drama, and we never did see the show go far into that world. It’s a shame, but if you had those same disappointments, Mobland will not disappoint. Harry’s life and family are completely dedicated to this job. It leads to some intense moments and a quite entertaining show for the rest of us.
“Let’s not forget, you’re an Irish gangster first and an English gentleman second. You are a stone-cold Paddy killer.”
The Harrigans are rivals of another family called the Stevensons, led by Richie Stevenson, played by Geoff Bell. Conrad wants to move into the fentanyl business, which currently is controlled by the Stevensons. Didn’t any of these guys watch The Godfather? The Don tells us that “Drugs is a risky business”. It’s going to mean war here. It starts when Maeve fingers Conrad’s brother Archie as a rat. So Archie has to go, and he makes a big deal of it in front of the whole family. That’s when we first find out that Maeve is an evil character. Look, Mirren has played villains before, but there was always something likable about her characters. I guess maybe because the actress is such a likable person. I never thought that I would encounter a Mirren character as hateful as Maeve. You will learn to detest this woman. I can’t imagine her having the chops to bring THAT off. She does, and you’ll hate her, but you can’t help but want to see what she does next. And she’s very good at framing other people for her actions. Harry is no different.
“Congratulations! You just started a war.”
The bad blood has obviously always been there for these two families. But this particular round is started when Conrad’s grandson, Eddie (Boon) decides to stage a big brawl where he knifes a kid in a bar while hanging with Stevenson’s kid, Tommy (Edwards). Now Tommy’s missing, and Richie is sure it was Eddie who took him out. Harry gets in the middle and slowly learns what happened, and he tries to manipulate things to clear Eddie. It’s gotten to be such a big deal that Richie even goes after Harry’s family, who he has tried to keep away from all of this.
Don’t get me wrong. Harry is the best “fixer” in the business. Every time he puts things right and gets peace between the families, Mirren blows it up, and everyone is in more danger than before. There’s no question she wants a war, and before the first season is over, she’s going to get it. But it’s a cycle that never seems to end in these ten episodes.
There are some family dynamics to know. Kevin Harrigan is played by Paddy Considine, and is the father of Eddie, unless he’s not. You see, his wife, now ex-wife, is Belle (Pulver), and she’s been sleeping with Conrad since before she even met Kevin. In fact, Conrad steered her Kevin’s way. So Mirren takes a particular liking to Eddie and encourages his destructive ways. It’s worse for Harry, because he and Kevin were mates since they were young, and Kevin’s why Harry is even in this job. But Kevin is weak, and Maeve considers Eddie to true heir to the family throne. If this sounds a bit like a soap opera, it is in many ways. But it’s more violent than any soap opera in history. It’s like All My Children got together with The Godfather or Goodfellas and had a Paramount+ kid.
I will have to say the huge problem for me here were these accents. They are often exaggerated, and I had a truly tough time making out what they were saying. I gave up on going over a spot three times to pick it up and decided to ride with the subtitles on. The funny part is that it’s usually Tom Hardy that’s hard to understand. He’s the easiest one to understand here. Needing to do so certainly has an impact on my enjoyment, but I have to say it’s probably worth it. The series has layers on top of layers, and you have to pay attention. This is not a show you run in the background while you’re exploring your phone. The more attention you give it, the more rewarding will be the experience. All of the talk is on Hardy and the third season. Let’s not forget about the first two. Here’s your chance to take those first steps down Guy Ritchie’s rabbit hole. It might be the best thing you’ve seen this year. “If I say a thing is the case, then that’s the case.”
