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I am not an avid television consumer. My phone is it’s own problem, but the television I began losing severe interest with after a six hour binging of Black Mirror.

With that being said, there are a few movies and series I will make the effort to watch. I am a massive fan of storytelling and cinematography; the multilayered stories woven into an anchored tale and the way those stories can be visually told to exude unspoken inner dialogue or character traits has a hold on me.

This is why Guy Ritchie’s The Gentleman has been a favorite of mine since it’s debut. It’s television counterpart instantly joined my Netflix list as soon as I realized it existed and was a delightful way to spend the holiday week.

What intrigued me into viewing the series is that it is set up to be an extension of the film; the focus rests upon the Duke of Halstead and his inherited garden along with the woes of attempting to untangle his family from the criminal empire. The darling Duke finds along the way that getting out, with everyone alive, is far more complex than he realized.

Aside from the well written and insanely clever storytelling, the visual aspects are just absolutely encompassing. The episodes are generally split between aristocratic and street level settings, which I absolutely love because they are two vastly different worlds that our main characters help bridge as the scenes progress in each episode.

Transitioning a successful film into a series can be a bit tricky. In my viewing experience, it never really felt like the essence of the original film made it past the first episode of a correlating series and that is always extremely disappointing. The reason a viewer will show loyalty to a franchise tends to be due to a desire to wanting more of the story the fell in love with; we accept that the small screen will vary from the big screen, but why must the heart of the stories be lost in the transition?

Each episode of The Gentleman series aligns with the original essence that birthed it’s existence. It is a continuation of the same heartbeat and I will love Guy Ritchie forever for this. The visuals, especially the way the colors and environments reflect our characters’ inner demons, are more stunning than I anticipated. It seems as if they are using similar camera angles, movement, and editing techniques to keep the stories consistent even though the series is it’s own story to tell.

Lastly, I love that there is still this duality of hierarchy and the definition of power. As I said earlier, the main story line is split between the worlds of the aristocrats and drug lords; in this we are gifted perspective of what it means to survive or thrive in each of these worlds, on political systems, on racism and sterotypes, as well as how systems can work for us and against us at the same time.

If you are into the aesthetic of the aristocracy paired with the excitement and trials of a lawless lifestyle, then you should give this show a watch.

**Highly recommend starting with the film prior to watching the show so you at minimum understand the how high the stakes are. It’s not completely necessary, but if you are going to watch the series you might as well watch the film too.