I finally finished Boardwalk Empire season 3 last night. Now that all is said and done, I’d definitely put that on my list of top 10 currently running shows. I can’t get over how many great performances by actors in super intense roles there are. It’s like watching a show with 10 or so Walter Whites.
I was especially into Bobby Cannavale’s Gyp Rosetti in the third season. For those of you who haven’t gotten to the third season yet, fear not, this is no spoiler. It is apparent from the first scene what Rosetti is all about. He reminds me of Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet; a laughable creep who absolutely explodes with fits of violence. Pure sociopath. Nearly every time he appears on screen I’m filled with dread and prone to that sort of nervous laughter you hear from theaters filled with annoying teenagers during scenes building up to a scare.
And he’s just one! Michael Shannon as Van Alden! Every smile is a wince from that guy. (I feel like he’s been great in everything he’s been in, though I haven’t seen Man of Steel yet.) Stephen Graham’s Capone! Richard Harrow! Chalky White! Nucky! Even Lucky Luciano, who felt like a caricature of a spoof of a cartoon of a 1920’s Italian gangster at first, grew on me.
Can’t wait for season 4 to start up in September.
