Armchair psychologists can have a field day watching Boardwalk Empire, the HBO series which will soon complete its fifth and final season. Aside from the richly portrayed protagonist (Nucky Thompson, de facto boss of Atlantic City), there are so many impeccably crafted characters that the mind reels trying to decide which of them might be the most well-wrought. At this point in my viewing (middle of Season 2) I must cast my vote for Nelson Van Alden.
The series itself begins on the eve of prohibition's enactment in 1920. New jobs have been created (sound familiar?)thanks to the Volstead Act, one of which is to ferret out and seize illegal alcoholic beverages. The name of the organization charged with this daunting task is "The Bureau of Internal Revenue" and Nelson Van Alden is one of their teetotaling agents. We see early on that he is strong-willed, righteous, dogmatic, controlled and seething with anger and envy. Let the games begin.
Nelson is married to an equally religious woman who also happens to be barren. After 12 years of marriage there is still no pregnancy. She feels guilty and wants to see a fertiity doctor, but it's expensive and Nelson can't afford such luxuries on his pay. He prefers to leave the matter of their procreation up to the Lord.
Nelson's big goal is to nail the wealthy and popular Nucky Thompson, who now must procure illegal booze or his income from "regulating" various local businesses, such as prostitution, that boom under its influence will surely decline. Early on in the series, Nucky enjoys (and employs, if truth be told) the attentions of his flashy mistress, Lucy, but he soon dumps her in favor of the classy immigrant Margaret. The plot thickens.
Nelson is obsessed with Margaret, but we don't know why just yet. He studies her immigration papers and photograph. In one intensely erotic and horrific scene we are given a glimpse into his tortured soul. He ritually lays out various objects on a small bed, and places Margaret's photo on the nightstand. He strips and sits on
the bed, gazing at her photo, then begins whipping himself with a knotted leather strap. A camera shot of his bare back reveals scar tissue, welts from previous beatings. He cries out in pain, actually more of a grunting acknowledgement of discomfort, but he won't stop until....well, perhaps until he is satisfied that he has punished himself enough for his lustful feelings, perhaps at the same time experiencing some sort of ecstatic release.
After a particularly badly bungled bureau job, Nelson finds himself in Atlantic City and against all protocol, he enters a whorehouse. He strides to the bar and orders whiskey. If this wasn't out of character enough, he then spots the cast-off Lucy sitting alone at a table and asks to join her. They drink together and soon she takes him upstairs. We see them reveling in their illicit sexual pleasures, under the nefarious influence of alcohol, of course. In Van Alden's mind, this may be Step One in besting Nuckie (by enjoying his leftovers).
In a brilliant ironic twist of fate, Lucy becomes pregnant with Nelson's child. He accepts a transfer from New York to Atlantic City, where he can both keep an eye on and take care of Lucy and his unborn child. It is especially poignant because Nucky longs for a family of his own, just as Nelson's wife does. The fact that Nelson begat a child not by his lawfully wedded wife is rife with possibilities for future problems. Will he acknowledge, even keep, the kid once it's born? If so, how to explain it? What about Lucy, will her maternal instinct kick in and bollix things up? We also have to wonder how Van Alden got so screwed up, what kind of dad he might be, and to what depths might he sink in the future? Honestly, I can't wait to find out what happens next!
And THAT, my fellow writers, is one way to depict an unforgettable character. Not only is the writing superb, but they hit it out of the ball park with audacious acting and deft directing. We could probably do no better, but we can try. Let us begin, shall we?
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