House of Guinness

In the wake of the passing of the head of the Guinness family the offspring - three brothers, one sister - are left to pick up the pieces, whilst being forced to address their own issues & failings amidst the backdrop of an Ireland on the brink of revolution and retribution. Highly stylised and with a modern soundtrack out of kilter with the historic setting this has more than a passing resemblance to Peaky Blinders. Good cast, the ever reliable James Norton and relative newcomer Emily Fairn (wonderful in The Responder) stand out in particular. It looks great and It's enough to hold the attention but feels a bit forced and for me, doesn't quite gel. That said I wasn't a fan of the aforementioned Peaky Blinders and I think that did quite well...!

I think what the people writing the few reviews that were posted are forgetting is that "House of Guinness" is not an accurate biographical documentary of the Guinness family during the mid-19th century. As said in the beginning of the show it is 'inspired' by their story. "House of Guinness" is a television series for entertainment purposes. And I found it entertaining. I'm sure that the people criticizing the Irish accents in the show are Irish themselves and can distinguish correct accents. Deduct a point for that.

It's got good action and pace, the actors give a good performance and I like the scenery and music.

Whether it's accurate is irrelevant to me, if I want to watch period drama I'll watch Wolf Hall (excellent). This is dramatic and accessible with modern music and language. If that's not for you, watch something else.

The people complaining really do need to lighten up!

I really hate the modern music scores as the soundtrack for a period drama. It doesn't work and pulls you right out of the fantasy they're trying to create. I wish modern directors and producers realized this. Rule 101 of storytelling when you're playing in historical fiction -- do not use terms, music, etc that did not exist back then. Aside from the music, the word "Bonehead" was an Americanism that didn't even originate until the early 1900's and likely would not have been used in late 1800's Ireland. If you're doing a period drama - do it right. Don't keep pulling the viewer out of the story by introducing modern music and words. That is why I pulled three stars.

Being a huge fan of Peaky Blinders I was really looking forward to House of Guinness ever since I first heard about it since it has the same creator in Steven Knight. Now, I didn't think it going to be as good as Peaky Blinders bc not much is so don't go into this trying to compare. Knight sure knows how to make a show entertaining while staying true to its history. You're never bored as the show flys by. Just be sure you give yourself enough time to watch this because once you start you're going to want to binge it as quickly as possible.