Although the story of Al Capone's rise and fall is well known to most viewers, this eight-part second season of AMC's "Making of the Mob" portrays an Al Capone that defies mythologizing. While "The Making of the Mob - New York" seemed to suffer at times from a staid and disjointed story line, this season offers a more suspenseful yet surprisingly nuanced tale that breathes some fresh air into the tried and true histories of Capone and of the Chicago Outfit.
Was Capone a violent and ruthless killer? Episode 1 portrays Capone as less of a killer and more a man struggling to survive in a dangerous and unforgiving world. Was Capone destined for criminal glory/infamy? In this version, Capone is seen less as a gangster-in-the-making and more as a person of opportunity. Perhaps if he had received a better wage or a better education, Capone would've shied away from the criminal underworld. But as "Making of the Mob" vividly illustrates, Capone had few other options to make a better life for himself and for his family besides turning to the Mob.
"The Making of the Mob" does not exclude the violence and ruthlessness that lay behind Capone's rise to power in Chicago (e.g. the gruesome killing of Chicago kingpin "Big Jim" Colosimo), but it helps contextualize it in a way that offers a deeper portrayal of Capone and his life beyond the Hollywood imagery. Although it remains to be seen how well the show will cover the rest of Capone's career (as well as the subsequent history of the Chicago Mob following his downfall), Episode 1 seems to foreshadow a gripping and refreshingly new take on the infamous gangster and on the criminal underworld that he notoriously seized control of.
Was Capone a violent and ruthless killer? Episode 1 portrays Capone as less of a killer and more a man struggling to survive in a dangerous and unforgiving world. Was Capone destined for criminal glory/infamy? In this version, Capone is seen less as a gangster-in-the-making and more as a person of opportunity. Perhaps if he had received a better wage or a better education, Capone would've shied away from the criminal underworld. But as "Making of the Mob" vividly illustrates, Capone had few other options to make a better life for himself and for his family besides turning to the Mob.
"The Making of the Mob" does not exclude the violence and ruthlessness that lay behind Capone's rise to power in Chicago (e.g. the gruesome killing of Chicago kingpin "Big Jim" Colosimo), but it helps contextualize it in a way that offers a deeper portrayal of Capone and his life beyond the Hollywood imagery. Although it remains to be seen how well the show will cover the rest of Capone's career (as well as the subsequent history of the Chicago Mob following his downfall), Episode 1 seems to foreshadow a gripping and refreshingly new take on the infamous gangster and on the criminal underworld that he notoriously seized control of.