Alfie Solomons

Recently, some of us have been engrossed in "Peaky Blinders", a British import available on Netflix. It's a gangster story set a century ago in Birmingham (England, not Alabama, natch), full of jaw-dropping plot twists.

What do we like most about it?

It's not the fast-moving plot. It's not the complex relationships between characters. It's not the strange anachronistic music. It's not the slow-motion walking. (But boy, do we love the slow-motion walking!)

It's Alfie Solomons, of course, the Orthodox Jewish gangster portrayed by the goyishe Tom Hardy. Alfie owns the scene every time he appears, chewing up the scenery with a distinct brogue. Is he good? Is he evil? Either way: he is just fantastic!

Turns out that he is actually based on a real gangster: Alfie... Solomon. How is that for a plot twist?