The English: Emily Blunt excels in a bloody saga of frontier life
BBC2 show’s stellar cast includes Ciarán Hinds, Stephen Rea and Toby Jones
BBC2’s “magnificent blood-soaked tale of the Old West” features a “bravura” performance by Emily Blunt, said Nick Clark in the London Evening Standard. She plays Lady Cornelia Locke, who arrives in Maryland in 1890 in search of the man who caused her son’s death, and teams up with Native American Eli Whipp (the “riveting” Chaske Spencer), an ex-US army scout.
Together they undertake an epic journey that pits them against a series of rogues, leading to violence that is at times “bloody and visceral”.
The stellar cast includes Ciarán Hinds, Stephen Rea and Toby Jones; and the cinematography is “stunning”. Tackling big themes such as the bloodshed underpinning America’s creation story, it’s thought-provoking, and drags you “ever deeper into its heart of darkness”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This “operatic” tale is halfway to being a masterpiece, said Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph. It contains moments of extraordinary beauty and ugliness, and some wonderful performances, such as Rafe Spall’s “overblown” yet terrifying villain. What lets it down is dialogue that is often impossible to make out, and hard-to-follow subplots.
The plotting is convoluted, agreed Lucy Mangan in The Guardian, but that’s more than compensated for by the parade of characters who encapsulate the pitilessness of frontier life. Blunt and Spencer excel as “lost and harrowed souls” whose relationship becomes deeper in a way that transcends romance, while writer-director Hugo Blick’s script is “as spare and gorgeous as the landscape”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
If comedy gives lessons, you're doing it wrong
Opinion Jerry Seinfeld wonders if his show would have made it in our moralistic era
By Mark Gimein Published
-
6 unique homes with an A-frame design
Feature Featuring a smart home in Vermont and a wall of windows in Wisconsin
By The Week Staff Published
-
Cynthia Carr's 6 favorite books that explore social issues
Feature The former culture writer recommends works by Ling Ma, Olga Tokarczuk, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Idea of You review: 'impossible escapism' starring Anne Hathaway
The Week Recommends Steamy romcom about a 40-year-old who falls for a boy band singer
By The Week UK Published
-
Expressionists: a 'rousing' exhibition at the Tate Modern
The Week Recommends Show mixes 'ferociously glowing masterpieces' from Kandinsky with less well-known artwork
By The Week UK Published
-
The Buddha of Suburbia: an 'orgiastic odyssey'
The Week Recommends Emma Rice brings Hanif Kureishi's 1990 novel to the stage
By The Week UK Published
-
6 stylish homes in Portland, Oregon
Feature Featuring a wall of windows in Collins View and a historic ballroom in Portland Heights
By The Week US Published
-
Tom Crewe's 6 favorite works that challenge societal norms
Feature The novelist recommends works by Margaret Oliphant, Patrick White, and more
By The Week US Published