First things first, if you haven’t watched this crime drama series called Peaky Blinders, what world are you living in? Do yourself a favour and watch all the seven seasons of this Netflix’s popular award-winning series. Steve Knight is the man behind this incredible story, a staid version of Downtown Abbey. For people who’ve already watched it, Thomas Shelby (played by Cillian Murphy) is the star of the show. At least until Alfie Solomons (played by the icon Tom Hardy peaky blinders himself) enters the show.
Overview
When Alfie is on screen, everyone else, including the star of the show Thomas, disappears in the background. And part of that is because Alfie talks a lot. But obviously this is not just it. It is the combination of characteristics that Steve Knight and Tom Hardy have infused into the character of tom hardy peaky blinders. This combination has made him one of the most intimidating and charming yet funny and clever characters on the show.
Alfie’s directness, violent outburst, and over-the-top demeanour are all signature to his character. While underneath, we get somebody who is intelligent and organized. Of all the villainous type characters on the show, Luca, Sabini, Aberama, Alfie has vilified himself among the top and has undoubtedly become the fan’s favourite. In this article, we’ll be delving deeper into Alfie’s character and try to find what makes him both equally random and very calculated. Before further ado, let’s dive in.
What Is Alfie Solomon all about?
In our opinion, Tom Hardy’s first appearance on the show speaks a lot about Alfie’s all about. His first scene in the front gives us the best glimpse into what we can expect from Alfie’s character. So, potential spoilers ahead! The first scene is of the character’s body language. He appears to be big, rugged, rough. He’s shuffling down this hallway, and he has his arms spread out, almost as if his muscles are too large for him. If you haven’t noticed, many other characters in the show walk like this, for instance, Tommy and Arthur.
There are a lot of key aspects to Alfie’s character that defines him. First one being his use of dialogue and rhetoric and whether it be overuse of it or just how persuasive he is. Second, is his unpredictability. He keeps you on the edge of your seat because you don’t know what he’s going to say or do next. However, subtly, all his actions have added many purposes. We’ll touch upon that later in the article.
He has showcased both these things in a lot of his scenes. When we look at Alfie and his dialogues, he generally is known for going on long, random, and convoluted tangents. But if we look carefully, there’s so much more to that. Note his use of repetition and his asking of rhetorical questions, and you’ll know what we’re talking about. Rhetorical questions can do a lot if you’re public speaking. You can use it to emphasize a point. But in conversations, they can use it to scare and intimidate.
The unpredictability of Tom Hardy’s Character puts him two steps ahead
Kudos to Tom Hardy for performing Alfie Solomon so that no other actor can. The expressions, dialogue delivery, along Tom Hardy’s body language, makes everything spot on. Let’s now talk about the unpredictability of Alfie that was depicted in a lot of scenes. You expect him to say one thing, but he goes against your expectations and says another.
In one of the scenes, Tommy felt compelled to compliment Alfie on his rum regardless of how he thought about it. While Alfie catching Tommy in a lie is almost like a subtle power move. This sets up the next moment where they’re negotiating in Alfie’s office very well because it is just a whole demonstration of Alfie’s power.
So, if you look, your eyes are immediately drawn to tom hardy peaky blinders right hand where he put away the whiskey. His writing is kept there for a long time. You’re nervous about it because you think he’s going to pull a weapon or some kind, and then our intuition is almost reaffirmed when Tommy says, ‘I know you keep it in the drawer, and I know you keep it beside the whiskey’. If you look carefully and see what Alfie does next, you’ll instantly become his fan.
Character Emphasizing
He pulls out a gun from underneath the left side of the table and not from beside the whiskey. You might be wondering what Alfie is trying to accomplish here. The thing is that Alfie would never have shot Tommy, as it’s completely illogical for him to do so. And if he did, he’s already losing his word to Sabini. And then he would have another issue to contend with.
He only pulled a gun to prove a point to show that he’s two steps ahead of Tommy to intimidate him. And to let Tommy know that his intelligence came too late. Another interesting thing to note here is that Tommy’s scene doesn’t end with a proper resolution. Instead, Alfie gets the last word. Even though it’s implied that they could cut the deal, the scene better showcases how Alfie was in total control. Tom Hardy completely stole the background and the show with his impressive performance.
Conclusion
To sum it up, it seems like there is no other actor better suited to play Alfie Solomon than the icon Tom Hardy. Tom Hardy has such a versatile range and affinity when it comes to playing villains that Alfie is just a natural fit.