Mobland is why we watch TV. Right from the word go, it’s a perfectly paced masterpiece of tone, acting and filmmaking…at least from the first two episodes Paramount has provided so far. How the series develops past these two is anyone’s guess, but from what I’ve seen, I would be very surprised if it didn’t continue to deliver.
MobLand stars Tom Hardy as Harry Da Souza, a fixer for the Harrigan Family. The Harrigans are a ruthless, drug-dealing, murderous syndicate led by Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) and Maeve (Helen Mirren). Things start to get…tricky for the Harrigans when the son of rival gang leader Richie Stevenson (Geoff Bell) goes missing after being seen with Eddie Harrigan (Anson Boon), Conrad’s grandson on a night out.
I don’t want to give too much away because the joy in shows like these is to learn what happens as it happens, rather than have anything spoiled. Suffice it to say, Harry is called in by the Harrigans to clean up this mess, and things don’t go smoothly.
MobLand Review
MobLand is well and truly anchored by Tom Hardy’s flawless performance as Harry. It seems to me that he’s based Harry on a Great White Shark. He’s always on the move, always on the hunt, but never expending energy unnecessarily. When it comes time to strike, he is explosive, violent and absolutely deadly. But it’s more than his demeanour that reminds me of an apex predator.
It’s the way he carries himself. The physicality of the performance is brilliant and something Hardy has become well known for. There’s also something in his eyes. He has the same dead, terrifying eyes as a Great White Shark. However, he’s charming and charismatic and you cheer for him because he’s so damn likable. Another one of television’s great, difficult men.
We come to understand just who Harry is from the opening scenes of episode 1. In what appears to be an homage to the famous pencil scene from The Dark Knight, two gangs are sitting opposite one another across a table with Harry at the head. These two groups are at war with one another, and it suits the Harrigans to broker peace. Harry calmly requests the men to shake hands and apologise, but when refusals are offered, Harry checks in with Conrad and the matter escalates rather quickly.
We also get to see Harry in action when he’s tasked by Conrad’s son, Kevin (Paddy Considine) to clean up after Eddie, who’s stabbed someone in a club. Harry methodically goes about investigating, interrogating and fixing, culminating in a chilling scene in which he threatens the stabbing victim, who’s still lying in their hospital bed, into silence. There’s a whiff of a police procedural about these scenes, but they’re topsy-turvy as we’re following the criminal side of things. It’s not altogether new, but it’s certainly a whole lot of fun.
We root for Harry, but he is a terrifying individual. In the first two episodes of Mobland, we also briefly get a flashback to Harry’s younger days in prison, further fleshing out the man we see in the show. Complicating his life as a fixer is Harry’s marriage. It’s in trouble, and his wife Jan (Joanne Froggatt) wants him to attend couples counselling. Harry is not a fan of this idea, and although he commits to it to appease Jan, his work constantly gets in the way.. Elsewhere, it seems as though Harry might be spending quality time with people he very much shouldn’t be. This is a plot thread I know MobLand is going to pull and tease and keep us guessing for as long as possible.
Hardy’s not the only one doing the heavy lifting in MobLand, though. Both Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren are brilliant as the heads of the Harrigan family. Brosnan, in particular, turns in a performance so against type and so unexpected that it’s a joy to behold. He’s clearly having the time of his life and appears to have been let off the leash. There’s nothing of James Bond here, and it’s nice to see an actor be given the freedom to really go to town on the material. The rest of the cast are also superb and ground the show in its own reality while also getting a chance to chew the scenery a bit. Paddy Considine plays the world-weary, put-upon son well, and both Joanne Froggatt as Jan and Laura Pulver as Bella Harrigan are given more to do than simply be “the wives.”
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Anson Boon as Eddie Harrigan. Eddie is such a disaster, such an utter waste of space, and so unlikable that he’s the perfect foil for the Harrigan family. Boon plays him so well, I’m sure that if I met him, I’d think he was an absolute tosser. Bravo.
Of Brosnan and Mirren, though, Conrad Harrigan is pure malevolence, but like Harry, wrapped up in so much charm and charisma that you can’t help but love him. It’s clear that Mirren’s Maeve is the Svengali to Brosnan’s Trilby, and she displays her influence over him in a particularly powerful scene early on. Maeve will be one to watch as MobLand goes on. Conrad’s the face, but Maeve is very much the brains.
When you look past the exterior, the mob trappings, the guns, the drugs, and the posturing, MobLand is setting itself up to be a modern-day Shakespearean tragedy. In the same way that Game of Thrones channeled the best of the bard, MobLand does the same. It simply replaces swords with pistols and horses with very fast and very sexy cars. Mark my words, MobLand could very well be heading for a blood-soaked Hamlet-style end, which makes it feel quite dangerous and incredibly thrilling.
Helping sell MobLand is its super slick production design and tight, careful editing. The show looks a million bucks with sets, costumes and locations absolutely leaping from the screen. What’s more, the action is choreographed in such a way as to focus on the brutality and make it impactful, rather than fancy and otherworldly. Guy Ritchie is involved with MobLand after all, and it shows.
So far, so great for MobLand. It looks and feels as though Paramount+ has an absolute monster on its hands, and I am dying to know what happens next. Led by Tom Hardy at his thuggish best and supported by a career-best Pierce Brosnan, the always impeccable Helen Mirren and an all-star cast firing on all cylinders, MobLand is destined to become appointment viewing.
MobLand premieres on Paramount+ on Sunday, 30 March with Episode 101 – Stick or Twist.
New episodes will be released weekly.
Paramount provided episodes 1 and 2 to Leo Stevenson for this review.
