I think there’s an important caveat to make before I truly begin my review of The English, which premiered two episodes at the London Film Festival. If someone was to create a TV show to fit in exactly with my tastes, The English, developed by Amazon Studios and the BBC, wouldn’t be far off perfect.
The show follows two protagonists from wildly different backgrounds crossing paths in the American West, where their lives become more intertwined than they could have possibly imagined. Emily Blunt stars as Cornelia Locke, born into British aristocracy, who journeys to the American Frontier to seek revenge on the man she believes is responsible for the death of her son. Upon arrival, Cornelia encounters Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer) being held prisoner by an unsettling Ciaran Hinds. His crime? The colour of his skin. Whipp is a member of the Pawnee Nation, and a former scout for the United States cavalry. Once they make their escape together, their journey together begins as Locke seeks revenge and Whipp seeks “just a few acres” with which to establish his homestead and find peace.
Through two episodes, the level of craft and care in The English is on display for all to see. In prestige drama, below-the-line the work often gets overlooked due to the sheer power and presence both on screen and on the script. When you think of The Sopranos, focusing on anything other than Gandolfini or Falco delivering a weekly masterclass of acting is nigh impossible. The performances of The English are special (more on these to come), but the cinematography, the production design, the costumes – they drag you through the screen into the Frontier. Every neigh of a mare and golden-hour sunrise. Every dust-stained scouts’ jacket and thrum of a loosed arrow. The dilapidated hotel and the missionary’s wagon. They pervade your senses, transporting you to a far-away time and place. As television of pure escapism from your screen, The English soars.
It would be remiss to not address those performances though, lest ye believe The English is only worthy of a watch for its technical prowess. Both Blunt and Spencer bring their own takes on the impact of loss and grief. Cornelia is driven by her singular loss, enough so that she crossed the Atlantic to seek vengeance. Whipp is driven by his grief too, but down a rockier road. Losing his family, his wife, his children, vengeance could, and likely should be the path he seeks – but a man who has known nothing but conflict simply strives for peace. For quiet. These performances are delivered with a grace and a tenderness, from the desperation in Blunt’s voice to the slow and methodical power of Chaske Spencer’s. Benefitting from a script as lean and hard as the land it showcases, the stars of The English are magnetic on-screen, to both the audience and to each other. There’s a star-crossed lovers quality to their chemistry, strangers from separate worlds born to be connected by tragedy, born to see each other through to the very end of their journey. The chemistry between Blunt and Spencer allows this to breath without feeling forced. We don’t have passionate kisses and declarations of love, but furtive glances, shy smiles and a connection that bores far deeper. That unspoken thing.
The English never shies away from the elephant of discrimination lurking in the corner of barn either, instead choosing to throw you straight into its charge. This may be, at least in part, a romance, but it is also a very clear tale about the mistreatment for First Nations cultures in the United States. We first meet Whipp – Pawnee himself – saving a mother and son from further violence after their father was mercilessly shot. He outranks the soldiers he commands, but his authority is derived only from that rank. To them, he’s nothing more than another ‘Indian’. Whipp’s entire journey centres around his desire to set up a homestead, something of a guaranteed right to United States servicemen at the time, but his Pawnee heritage will continually hold him back on his journey – much as it did to those serving Native Americans of the time. Chewed up and spat out by a system that cared nought for them, they were left with reservation land that could do little to sustain them. How far The English chooses to take this story remains to be seen after two episodes, but it’s a powerful and important story that should be seen by all.
There are so many aspects of The English from the first two episodes that make a must-watch when it releases this November, from its gorgeous yet brutal world, to the soaring chemistry of its leads. Hugo Blick has done it again.
Words by Jack Francis
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