The English starts very well with a beautifully shot and engrossing first episode. The cast is remarkable (Rafe Spall, terrifying), the photography stunning and the production design truly high level. Emily Blunt is fantastic as a Scarlett O'Hara type woman seeking revenge enhanced by her Vivien Leigh resemblance.
But the editing is all wrong and for the sake of being stylish and mysterious ends up confusing. By choosing a non linear timeline and pacing randomly its key moments through out the multiple episodes, the show destroys any chance of coherence and momentum. The viewer is left with pieces of a puzzle, a long talky puzzle, endless intimate dialogues that should intrigue but just bore as they eliminate any tension. The intense fights are perfectly shot and the Far West hopelessness is greatly rendered but can't save an almost incomprehensible plot.
The English would have probably worked better as a slick and character focused movie where a back-and-forth storyline is more digestible.
By the time the plot starts to reveal itself in episode 4, I lost interest in Emily Blunt's character and that's really a shame because this had all the rights ingredients.
But the editing is all wrong and for the sake of being stylish and mysterious ends up confusing. By choosing a non linear timeline and pacing randomly its key moments through out the multiple episodes, the show destroys any chance of coherence and momentum. The viewer is left with pieces of a puzzle, a long talky puzzle, endless intimate dialogues that should intrigue but just bore as they eliminate any tension. The intense fights are perfectly shot and the Far West hopelessness is greatly rendered but can't save an almost incomprehensible plot.
The English would have probably worked better as a slick and character focused movie where a back-and-forth storyline is more digestible.
By the time the plot starts to reveal itself in episode 4, I lost interest in Emily Blunt's character and that's really a shame because this had all the rights ingredients.