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| Malachi Kirby as “Hezekiah Moscow” in A Thousand Blows — Credits: The Story Collective, Matriarch Productions, Water & Power Productions — fair use for review and criticism |
Nothing hits the right spot better than a British drama set in the violent melting pot of Victorian London’s East End, where struggle and poverty reign, crime and vice run the streets, and human life amounts to very little.
A Thousand Blows is a story that tackles several themes that have a tremendous emotional impact on a modern audience: immigration (through the eyes of the male lead and his struggles to fit in), feminism (through a charming and ambitious female lead who plans to leave her mark in this ‘ man’s world’ she’s living in), and anti-colonialism (through the contrast between the posh and hypocritical West London and the raw, ethnically diverse, and unruly East London), etc.
The ambience feels authentic and extremely immersive. Everything from the settings to the characters and their struggles, the costumes, and above all, the exceptional acting from a strong cast transports the viewers back in time and makes you feel like you’re right there with them.
Rated as a humble 7.4/10 on IMDb, this series is an underestimated gem that deserves at least an 8/10 rating.
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Francis Lovehall (center) & Malachi Kirby (right) as “Alec” & “Hezekiah Moscow” in A Thousand Blows — Credits: The Story Collective, Matriarch Productions, Water & Power Productions — fair use for review and criticism |
Hezekiah Moscow, the son of a former Jamaican rebel, and his childhood friend, Alec, emigrate to London to seek a better life and new working opportunities. Lured in by the promise of a dangerous but honest job as a lion tamer at the London Zoo, Hezekiah’s enthusiasm and optimism are dampened by the unfriendly welcome of the Victorian city.
Despite the newly established abolition of slavery, most white folks don’t want to associate themselves with Black people, and the two Jamaican immigrants find themselves starving on the side of the road with only five quid in their pockets, unable to procure themselves proper lodgings and barely any honest work.
Cherry on top, even that lion tamer job for which Hezekiah came all the way to London from Jamaica turned out to be a scam, and in the worst and most degrading way possible. The zoo owner was looking to hire an ‘African specimen’ for his human zoo.
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Malachi Kirby (left) and Stephen Graham (right) as “Hezekiah Moscow” & “Sugar Goodson” in A Thousand Blows — Credits: The Story Collective, Matriarch Productions, Water & Power Productions — fair use for review and criticism |
Staring into space as their hopes and dreams were crushed by the cruel reality, the two men began to question their decision to come to London, where life seemed to be much worse than anything they had expected.
Things are especially hard for Hezekiah, who also bears the guilt of dragging his friend along to chase a foolish dream and shows developing signs of dejected cynicism.
Left without a choice, the two are pulled into the bare-knuckle boxing challenges hosted by the Goodson brothers, where once again they experience the taste of bitter defeat and unfairness. The games are rigged, and they end up antagonizing the older Goodson brother, Henry ‘Sugar’ Goodson, who’s a very dangerous individual with ties to the London underworld.
But that’s also where Hezekiah catches the eye of Mary Carr, the leader of a female thieves gang, who wants to recruit him for a heist.
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Erin Doherthy as “Mary Carr” in A Thousand Blows — Credits: The Story Collective, Matriarch Productions, Water & Power Productions — fair use for review and criticism |
Through Mary Carr and the heist she’s pulling, Hezekiah steps foot in posh Western London, where he gets acquainted with the higher-class society and the newest, most fashionable sport all over the world, glove boxing — a competition for gentlemen with fair rules and proper due process — that gives our Jamaican immigrant the opportunity of a lifetime.
For the first time since he came to London, Hezekiah feels like his hard work and dedication have paid off, and he sees a clean and honest future for himself as a professional boxer after the heist is over.
But, once again, nothing goes as planned. On one hand, the heist goes terribly wrong, endangering everyone who took part in it. On the other hand, being too good of a fighter continued to land Hezekiah in trouble, just like it did with the Goodson brothers.
Those gentlemen of high-class society who enjoy glove-boxing are worse than the gangsters running the bare-knuckle boxing show. They only see Hezekian as the representative of the “physical savagery” of the African race meant to be defeated by the “civilized techniques” of the whites, and when the Jamaican mops the floor with their so-called world’s best, he gains new enemies.
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