How Violence is Depicted in Peaky Blinders

S5 EP3

In the third episode of the fifth season, Arthur Shelby is looking for his wife, Linda, who has left her because of her quaker faith. Arthur knows she has found comfort with a man, whom he runs into. The scene begins as Arthur walks into a room with a large window, but the glass is frosted over, so it lets in light, but the audience cannot see through it. A large tapestry reads “Search For The Truth Within,” so it is likely a quaker building. Arthur asks the man in the room where Linda is, but he replies that she does not want to see her husband. Unsurprisingly, he does not take the news well. Due to the weird lighting, some details of the bodies are clear, but a shadow covers both men’s faces. Continuing the awkward interaction, he jostles with the man, whose name is Frederik, and tries to rip off Frederik’s suit to “search for the truth within.” Arthur then repeatedly slams the man’s head into the wall and throws him onto the floor, crashing through an array of chairs. While he is groaning on the floor, the camera moves back to show more of the room. It is now much darker, so the details of the men are harder to make out, but Arthur smashes a chair, preparing to beat Frederik with one of the legs of the chair. Simultaneously, music begins to drown out the noise of the scene. As Arthur becomes more unhinged, the music completely engulfs the scene, emulating his lack of control. The audience witnesses Arthur brutally beat Frederik, but the sound is completely drowned out. The darkness and positioning of the scene removes most of the man’s features, making him look like just a dark mass underneath Arthur. The scene’s noise returns as Arthur comes back to his senses, sitting on a chair as he rambles about being a good man, but he quickly drags the man back to him, and pulls out his notorious peaky cap, equipped with razors, to slice the man’s eyes, and, ultimately, Arthur leaves Frederik for dead. The music returns to spare the grotesque noises. The use of music highlights Arthur’s instability and adds to the scene’s violence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCtisgTHR_o


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