Starting Over

Most of his life consists of artifice

Article by Tianya

Jimmy certainly has better judgment than Al, but he hasn’t quite realized yet that the criminal life he’s leading can have awful consequences for those around him. Thanks to Al’s heedlessness, Pearl ends up with her face sliced to ribbons. Of course Jimmy could not have known that would happen, but he may come to realize that turning into a real gangster is not a solution to his problems — that choice has created a new set of problems, not just for him but for the people around him. It’s caused a rift with Nucky, and now it’s just about ruined Pearl’s life.For Nucky and Jimmy, the criminal life is turning out to be both more and less than they expected.Margaret Schroeder, on the other hand, is still seduced by the lives led by Nucky and Atlantic City’s elite. But for Nucky, his “surprise” birthday party isn’t really a surprise, it’s one more round of glad-handing while wearing a plastered-on smile, one more reason to curse lax servants, one more round of arm-twisting with fellow politicians who could help bring federal dollars to his area. It’s work,Boardwalk empire dvd in other words.But to Margaret, the party is a magical place, one where she gets to have current-events conversations with tuxedo-clad potentates, see how the high and mighty live and even take a spin around the dance floor. She can, for a few minutes, feel like Princess Anastasia. Of course, later, that magical feeling is gone, but she swipes a silky item from the dress shop where she works, desperate to keep a scrap of something fine and magical in her life.Expectations seem to be one of the themes of this show — and what happens when expectations and aspirations meet with the cold, hard truths of reality. Chalky is well aware of what he’s had to sacrifice to get where he is; he’s a realist and that allows him to survive.Jimmy’s just started to realize how much he may have to give up to get the life he sees Nucky leading. And he still has little or no idea of what that life costs Nucky in worry and pressure.Saintly Margaret Schroeder tries to be a good person, but her life is full of workaday worries and cares. She may not expect the good life, but she’s willing to sacrifice a little of her virtue to at least get a glimpse of it. But once a person has started tasting the fruits of ill-gotten gains, where does that path lead? She came her for a better life, after all, not the same old dull drudgery.For Nucky, “success” has led to a place of isolation and quiet sadness. He’s acquainted with the entire world, but he has no real friends. And in the smart, capable Mrs. Schroeder, he sees a a glimmer of a real relationship.Even though the TCA Summer press tour wrapped up yesterday, I’m still in Beverly Hills awaiting my flight back to the wilds of New Jersey. But before I leave, Boardwalk empire dvd I wanted to talk about HBO’s presentation that concluded the tour, mainly for who was there… and who might be there in 2011.HBO always presents their part of the tour like a broadcast network would, with an executive session and star-studded panels. And, while this summer’s lineup had some pretty good star power, I can only imagine what next winter’s panels are going to look like. Why? Because HBO showed clips of David Milch’s ‘Luck,’ starring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, the dark ‘Mildred Pierce’ miniseries starring Kate Winslet, and a fifteen-second clip of ‘Game of Thrones,’ which lit up Twitter feeds everywhere.Oh, and we might also see Bruce Springsteen, as there’s a documentary in the works about the making of The Boss’ classic 1978 album ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town.’This time around, HBO had Spike Lee, whom I talked to during a roundtable earlier in the day about ‘If God Is Willing And Da Creek Don’t Rise,’ and Tracy Morgan, promoting his fall comedy special.But the highlights of the afternoon were the panels for the much-anticipated Martin Scorsese production ‘Boardwalk Empire,’ and the wonderfully wacky Carrie Fisher, promoting a documentary of her one-woman show ‘Wishful Drinking.’Scorsese couldn’t be there in person for the ‘Boardwalk Empire’ panel, but joined us via satellite from London, along with co-executive producer Terence Winter and stars Steve Buscemi and Kelly Macdonald.

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