In 8-part Irish crime drama Kin, the dark intrigue of drug cartels and ingrained generations of criminal enterprise are the body of the story, but pulsing noisily through its veins are the personal, ordinary crises of family relationships.
Blood is thicker than water, as they say, but is it gluey and substantive enough to weather the corrosive nature of deception, secrets and greed?
Not only does Kin boast a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, captivating storylines and an exquisite script that embraces silences and gestures as fiercely as it crafts dialogue, it boasts a cast that can whittle every ounce of cleverness and emotion from the story. Clare Dunne (Herself), Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Ciaran Hinds (Game of Thrones, The Dry - now streaming ), Emmett J. Scanlan (Peaky Blinders) and Maria Doyle Kennedy (Outlander) are flawless, but it is Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones, Love/Hate - also ) as the conflicted Frank Kinsella who is purely magnetic.
Aidan Gillen as Frank Kinsella and Keith McErlean as Con Doyle in ‘Kin’. Credit: Kin Series Holding UK Ltd and Headline Pictures (Kin) Limited
Gillen delivers an unrivalled portrayal of the patriarchal crime boss, who shares his duties with sister Birdy (Kennedy) and brother Bren (Francis Magee). While Bren’s clan rivals Frank’s since his children have produced grandchildren (and heirs to the family business), Frank’s son Eric ‘Viking’ Kinsella (Sam Keeley) is not going to concede any power to his cousins without a fight. And there will be a fight.
“As much as it’s about a war between one faction and another, the war is internal within the family,” Gillen told a US morning show. “They’re driven by grief and rage… it leads to some very driven, passionate performances from really well-drawn characters.”
The slaughter of a family member in the first episode cannot go without revenge, but this is not going to be clean and simple. Though Birdy rallies to Frank’s side when the family begins to splinter in their loyalties, the tensions are deadly and Frank’s leadership balances on the head of a pin.
Ciaran Hinds as mob boss Eamon Cunningham. Credit: Kin Series Holding UK Ltd and Headline Pictures (Kin) Limited
So riveting are the scenes between Aidan Gillen and fellow veteran actor Ciaran Hinds, as Frank Kinsella and mob boss Eamon Cunningham, that I rewound and re-watched. The silences are electric, laden with unspoken threats. The facial gestures speak volumes. Cunningham is the kingpin of Ireland’s most powerful drug cartel and he didn’t get there without spilling blood.
Eamon and Frank are alone in an unassuming diner for one of their most loaded conversations. It is in the wake of Eamon’s men encroaching on the turf of Frank’s dealers.
“I can’t have that, Eamon,” Frank says with all the lightness of saying, I don’t like vanilla ice-cream.
The deceptive calm of their demeanours is betrayed by their tight jaws, averted gazes, hissed exhales and awkward silences. It’s fraught and it’s perfectly played.
When Eamon concludes, “It’s not personal Frank… you’re either all in with me or you’re not,” there is such a brokenness to Frank’s face, such a determination to bite his tongue, that you might not even realise you’ve been holding your breath until the scene ends.
Emmett J. Scanlan as Jimmy Kinsella with Aidan Gillen as Frank Kinsella in season one of 'Kin'. Credit: Kin Series Holding UK Ltd and Headline Pictures (Kin) Limited
With his chiselled jaw and oodles of charisma, 55-year-old Gillen has easily traversed the roles of shady love interest and crafty, clever criminal. While many identify Dublin-born Gillen with his lovable, rogueish Peter ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish in Game of Thrones, he will always be the toxic Baltimore political climber Tommy Carcetti in The Wire for me, and Stuart Alan Jones in Queer As Folk.
Stuart in Queer As Folk battled with a broken home and sought consolation in sex and partying as a 30-something gay Irish man in Manchester. His narcissistic obsession was his own beauty. “You’ll always be young, and always be beautiful,” was his best friend Vince’s common refrain.
Charlie Cox as Michael Kinsella. Credit: Kin Series Holding UK Ltd and Headline Pictures (Kin) Limited
Though Stuart knew he was gay, and openly embraced it as a teenager, such openness is not available to Frank Kinsella. Any vulnerabilities or perceived weaknesses are a lethal liability. His sexual attraction to men is just that. It threatens to be a liability not only as the reigning kingpin of his criminal cartel, but as a father and an uncle.
This is only one of the conundrums that weaves viewers into the dramatic tapestry of Kin. As a crime drama, it is pacey, bristling with danger and bloody battles, but as a family drama it is utterly intriguing in its complex, shifting loyalties and the closets full of skeletons waiting to bare their bones. Nobody else could do Frank Kinsella justice as Aidan Gillen does. I’d go so far as to bet that Littlefinger, Tommy and Stuart now only exist in the shadow of Kin’s troubled, beautiful Frank.
Kin premieres at 9.30pm on SBS, Thursday 27 July with episodes airing weekly. Episodes will also be available each week .
