Written by Steven Knight
Directed by Tom Shankland And Mounia Akl
Worker: "You think there'll be trouble today?"
Rafferty: "The man's name is Guinness. Of course there'll be fucking trouble."
Okay, I didn't think I was going to do an individual post about this show but here we are. While the reviews have been mixed at best and scathing at worst, I found myself compelled with watching this show.
First of all, this was very much an Englishman's perspective on Irish history and an Irish dynasty and that did make for a mixed bag. Also add half the cast being English and the majority of the show being filmed in the UK and it's not hard to see why this might not have landed for everyone.
Steven Knight, best known for Peaky Blinders thought he could the infamous Guinness family and put them through a 19th century Succession filter. I'll admit it worked for the most part throughout the eight episodes first season.
Following the death of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, the running of his infamous brewery would befall his oldest sons Arthur (Anthony Boyle) and Edward (Louis Partridge) while youngest son, Benjamin (Fionn O'Shea) and only daughter, Anne Plunkett (Emily Fairn) had to journey their own course throughout the series. Anne being more successful in that regard as her empathy for the less fortunate came into play.
Throughout this series, the reputation of the Guinness family was threatened by outside forces. They weren't exactly beloved by the general public and the family found themselves blackmailed by Fenian siblings Patrick (Seamus O'Hara) and Ellen Cochrane (Niamh McCormack) as well as distant cousin, Byron Hedges (Jack Gleeson). It didn't help that Edward also had an affair with Ellen before marrying cousin Adelaide (Ann Skelly).
The highlight for me though was Arthur Guinness himself. Anthony Boyle gave the Standout performance of the series. We saw his political ambitions end on a cliffhanger. We saw his arranged marriage to Lady Olivia Hedges-White (Danielle Galligan) complicated by her affair with foreman Sean Rafferty (James Norton) as well as his own homosexuality and affair with Patrick (Cúán Hosty-Blaney) and his conservative views.
By contrast, I'd say the writing for Anne and Benjamin might be more of a mixed bag. As the latter battled alcoholism, an arranged marriage and a mistress, the former wanted a leadership role that she managed to get towards the end of the season. Anne's best moment however involved her trip to Cloonboo in the third episode and interactions with a village still suffering the fallout of the Great Irish Famine and her scenes with Sultan (Hilda Fay).
- Other noteworthy characters included Aunt Agnes (Dervla Kirwan), butler John Potter (Michael McElhatton) and the scheming Reverend Henry Gratton (Michael Colgan).
- Rafferty was implied to have had sex with Arthur before the latter married Olivia. Rafferty also had sex with Anne. All the Guinness siblings ended up in an arranged marriages.
- I had to laugh that every time money was mentioned on the show, the titles would show the amount it was worth today.
- The scenes in Cloonboo and New York had some Irish in them. Netflix also have Irish subtitles for the show.
- Standout music: The music choices varied but Fontaine DC's Starbuster was used during two significant moments in the show.
- Chronology: 1868-1974, Dublin, Galway and New York.
Some mixed accents and maybe a need for more Irish voices to one side, I actually enjoyed House Of Guinness. The eight episodes managed to hit the right spot and the focus on family and politics certainly was the strength of the show. Much better than expected.
Rating: 8 out of 10