Review of BOARDWALK EMPIRE

BOARDWALK EMPIRE (first two disks)

NUCKY (Enoch) THOMPSON, a crooked politician, finds prohibition a cause for celebration.  With his brother, ELI, the equally crooked sheriff, CHALKY, a crooked leader of the black community, and various others, he controls booze in Atlantic City and funnels the proceeds of the liquor trade into his bank account. A self-righteous, terminally constipated federal agent, NELSON VAN ALDEN, tries to limit the flow of alcohol, but is hopelessly underfunded. Enter MARGARET SCHROEDER, a prohibitionist who, thinking Nucky supports her cause, asks him for help for her violent husband. Nucky helps her, and when her husband disappears, a victim of an alcohol-war skirmish, he helps her more.

Don't watch this right after the movie DONNIEBRASSO.  Though in a different era, the situations are similar enough to be confusing.

Some aspects of the story are never well explained, for example, Nucky's attraction to Margaret (though that may be because she's the only woman with balls--excuse me, ovaries.)

The interactions between the characters make this one of the more riveting series I've watched.  Nucky, though often cruel and ruthless, frequently shows consideration to others he doesn't consider a threat.  Margaret, though at first an apparently naïve victim, has unexpected cunning, and also the ability to lie and even to steal. Likewise, the most of the other characters are multifaceted with good and bad traits. To me, their interactions are more absorbing than car chases or bloody fighting.

There are a lot of bare breasts, some pubic hair, and some simulated intercourse (at least, I think it's simulated.)  A couple of times, the exposure was obviously gratuitous.  Some people like this kind of thing more than others.

The sexism portrayed by most of the male characters (with no objections from the women) is overpowering.  There's also a fair amount of anti-black racism and some anti-Semitism.  The producers might justify the bigotry by saying it's historically realistic. Poop in a toilet is also realistic, but you don't have to show it.

Some characters, like Al Capone and Eddie Cantor, are actual historical figures, and others, like Nucky, are closely based on real people of that era. The Wikipedia ('much more comprehensive and almost as accurate as Britannica') article on the series can give you more details.

I rented this series on the recommendation of my son, and it was well worth it. It's good cinema and a good workout video.  I give it +++++ - it will get your pulse up to a sprint. If you see it, let me know what you think.