🎬TV series "TABOO" - one person struggling against the East India Company - REVIEW without spoilers

weeklystats (55)in #movies • 7 years ago

I guess most people have heard about the British East India Company. Thanks to this organization, Britain colonized the countries of the East. The company was so powerful that it was headed by the governor. It had her own court and the right to coinage.

We often find references to this organization in films and TV shows. For example, in Pirates of the Caribbean or Black sails.

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The series "Taboo" is based on the struggle of man against this powerful corporation.

PLOT

Horace Delaney dies in London. James Delaney, his son, comes at the funeral. He spent the last 10 years in Africa, studying various African rituals.

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James was considered dead, but no one was happy about his return. After all, there are terrible rumors about him, it is believed that he is the embodiment of the devil. However, Delaney does not intend to stay in the city for a long time. He inherited the Nootka Island, which the East India Company and the Americans want to get.

The first season consists of 8 series. The TV series is extended for at least 2 seasons. The idea belongs to Tom Hardy and his father - Edward Hardy.

RESUME

I noticed Tom Hardy after he played in The Dark Knight Rises. Yes, I saw his previous films, but he did not impressed me. I liked his character Bane even more than Batman and since then I try to follow his movies. It wasn't an exception for TV series "Taboo", which Hardy created for himself. In the series you will see High Sparrow from the Game of Thrones (Jonathan Pryce), Doug Stamper from the House of Cards (Michael J. Kelly), Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss). However, Tom Hardy eclipses them, he is the central figure of the whole show and the camera revolves only around him.

19th century. We fall into a gloomy, dirty city. We are surrounded by unsanitary conditions, prostitutes, beggars, children trying to earn an extra coin or steal some food. Got to say, I admire that London!

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Mysticism adds to the picture a special charm, which the brutal James Delaney exudes. While it is unclear how his rituals affect events, but it looks so exotic and colorful.

I want to note the excellent selection of clothes, makeup, attention to details - a feeling that none of the actors really washed and brushed their teeth for at least a year before the filming began. A little more and you can feel their stink through the screen.

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The life of the city is amazing. Every detail is worked out - people live their lives, someone erases, cuts meat, cures children - we feel involvement in the life of the city.

Thanks to the series we will get acquainted with London's snatch and with the nobility, thus we will not see any positive character, and Delaney has no conscience. He rushes like a tank at the heads of his enemies, gathering around him an army of people, beaten by life. Sometimes it may seem that the main character has a good heart, but it is not true. He can be human, but until he gets what he needs. Then he discards the person as a horse glue.

It seems that the 8 series did not have enough to describe the whole story. In the end, there are still a lot of questions and unfinished storylines. The fact is that throughout the releases of all episodes, Hardy somehow worried that the series might not work, which is very strange. After all, the team managed to create an inhospitable city, in which destinies are destroyed.

My negative thoughts of "Taboo":

Actress Oona Chaplin, who plays the half-sister of Delaney. All the time she is in two states: hysteria or apathy.

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At some point I was tired of her actions. I like her externally, but as an actress she is very poor.
The immortality of James Delaney. It is assumed that he sees the future, but still becomes "in front of bullets" and of course, runs around with wounds the next day as he's a superhero. There were moments when I expected he would dodge bullets like Neo in the Matrix.

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Because of the fact that the series was cut out a lot of scenes (mostly associated with exposure), it seemed that the plot is a little holey. I hope in the second they will correct the situation.

In general, the TV series made a very positive impression on me.

Well, if you think that many events have greatly exaggerated (too dirty city or the vilification of the East India Company), then remember that this is a work of art, not a documentary work. The viewer first wants bread and circuses, so the developers of the series recently have been increasing and raising the bar.

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH TABOO? 5 REASONS

Incredible Tom Hardy. He is at the peak of his acting skills.
Historic London - dark, dirty and so attractive.
An interesting story. How will one person fight against a powerful corporation? How will shamanistic rituals help him?
No taboo. Love between sister and brother, murder, betrayal for the sake of a dream, homosexuality, debauchery and vices of the capital of England.
The interweaving of Reality and Mysticism. The protagonist not only sees the future, but can also communicate with the dead. We are attracted by the main mystery of the hero - he speaks an incomprehensible language, makes love at a distance. Who the hell is he?