Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman's Butler
2019
Original language: English
- drama
- crime
The story
The origin story of Bruce Wayne's legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth, a former British SAS soldier who forms a security company in 1960s London and goes to work with young billionaire Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, before they become Bruce Wayne’s parents.
What it’s like
Grimy, saturated 1960s London: rain-slick streets, smoky pubs, and dim flats lit by lamps and neon signs, with bold primary colours in the costumes and sets. The camera moves briskly, with handheld pushes into crowded rooms and sudden stylised cuts. The soundtrack mixes period pop and tense electronic textures, and it pulses under scenes of cold menace. The mood is brash and theatrical, closer to a pulpy crime caper than a quiet period drama, with a loose, wry energy that makes it easy to drop into for an hour. Violence is frequent and often brutal, with gunfire, stabbings, and beatings shown in close detail, and sexual content and nudity appear regularly. This is not a gentle watch. The arcs centre on a former soldier who builds a security firm, and on the tangled loyalties he forms with a wealthy family and the criminals around them. It suits viewers who want a stylish, pulpy, adult-leaning crime series with a dash of camp and a tough, unsentimental edge, especially those who enjoy period atmosphere and sharp, flashy violence.
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