Movie Review: ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’ April 17, 2026By John Mulderig OSV News Filed Under: Movie & Television Reviews NEW YORK (OSV News) – Beginning in 2013, a fact-based British drama series about a gang that wielded power in the Midlands city of Birmingham in the late 19th and early 20th centuries proved immensely popular with TV audiences. Having made a name for itself on the BBC, the show went on to become a hit on Netflix as well. So it’s perhaps no surprise that, with “Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man” (Netflix), the program has been adapted into a feature film. Those in search of casual entertainment, however, may be left scratching their heads as they ponder this grim story’s appeal. Indeed, only grown-ups willing to engage with a relentlessly downbeat look at the underworld should stream the movie. Set against the backdrop of World War II, as the bombs of the Blitz are falling, this installment of the saga opens with a jaw-dropping exhibition of amoral treachery. Having succeeded his father, Tommy (Cillian Murphy), as head of the titular outfit, viciously violent Duke Shelby (Barry Keoghan) signals his willingness to aid in the Nazi war effort. Duke has been approached by local German agent John Beckett (Tim Roth) who wants him to help in the distribution of a vast sum of counterfeit currency, the daring goal of the scheme being to ruin the entire British economy via runaway inflation. Duke, to all appearances, readily agrees to cooperate and avows his indifference as to the outcome of the global conflict. Alarmed by this development, Kaulo (Rebecca Ferguson), a Roma woman who claims to communicate with the dead, appeals to Tommy to intervene. She can count on Tommy’s sympathy not only because he has both Irish Traveler and Roma ancestry himself but also because her deceased twin sister, Zelda (also Ferguson), was Duke’s mother. Yet Tommy is initially reluctant to emerge from the seclusion of the self-imposed exile into which he has withdrawn. Emotionally paralyzed by a combination of traumatic experiences, Tommy has been living on a remote farmstead writing his memoirs. The fact that Duke’s flagrantly antisocial behavior has endangered Tommy’s mostly upright sister, Ada (Sophie Rundle), eventually prompts him to return to the scene of his crimes. Yet nothing — including his immediately sexual romantic entanglement with Kaulo — can quell the overwhelming sense of guilt that makes Tommy long for death. Although Duke may or may not turn out to be sincere in his partnership with Beckett, the nature of his grisly lifestyle is typified by the fact that he feeds the corpse of one of his victims to a styful of swine. In a later confrontation with Tommy during which the grappling duo both become covered in the muck of this pigpen, Duke exclaims in angry despair, “Sin is all I know!” That about sums it up since, as scripted by Steven Knight, the narrative tone of director Tom Harper’s film hovers between dejection and outright nihilism, eventually culminating in an act that is obviously tragic but also morally dubious to say the least. There may be bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover but they don’t fly anywhere near this version of Birmingham. The film contains much violence with some gore, occult themes, a semi-graphic nonmarital bedroom encounter, drug use, rear male nudity in a nonsexual context, pervasive rough language and at least one crude term. The OSV News classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Read More Movie & Television Reviews Home Viewing Roundup for May 4, 2026 Movie Review: ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Movie Review: ‘Sheep Detectives’ Movie Review: ‘Michael’ Movie Review: ‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ Movie Review: ‘The Drama’ Copyright © 2026 OSV News Print
