‘The Penguin’ (2024)
A Shakespearian tragedy for the modern world?
“Grim-visaged War hath smoothed his wrinkled front.”
— William Shakespeare, Richard III
(Richard, Act 1 Scene 1)“My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.”— William Shakespeare, Richard III
(Richard, Act 5 Scene 3)
I had already been well acquainted with Oswald Cobblepot through almost every Batman film and TV show that has featured him. They all have had the character in roughly the same strange outfit and specific accoutrements—snow white face, a long-beaked nose, monocle, dressed in a tux, bow tie, top hat, an elongated cigarette holder (with a cigarette), and that unmistakeable waddle. The signature waddle.
All versions have been very similar, just exaggerated to lesser or greater degrees of comic malevolence. Most memorable of all was Danny DeVito who played him in Batman Returns (1992) with relish and what felt like great fun. But the Penguin is a villain and a killer. This new iteration takes us into the dark underbelly of the illegal drug world in Gotham City. It is a world we know already. But this Penguin is what makes the trip so unmissable and Colin Farrell kills it.
