Hugo Blick’s “The English”

The English

Pulp revisionist spaghetti western with a stellar cast that make up for some uneven pacing across its six episodes

This series is an interesting counterpoint to my recent review for Scott Cooper’s “Hostiles” which often took itself far too seriously. Here, the twisting story is larger than life with just enough grit to keep it grounded (though don’t expect historical accuracy or earnest realism). It is a pulp western and it delivers on the promise of that.

That said, the dialogue is quite sharp and the lead performances from Chaske Spencer(Eli) and Emily Blunt(Cornelia) are fantastic with excellent support roles from Ciaran Hinds, Rafe Spall, Valerie Pachner, Stephen Rea, Gary Farmer, and Toby Jones. It doesn’t quite do as much visual storytelling as I would like for a western, leaning heavily on dialogue. Obviously, this comes from the Leone view of a western but in early episodes, there is something of a Max/Furiosa feel to Spencer and Blunt’s relationship which reminded me of the visual storytelling of Miller’s “Fury Road”.

In terms of visuals, there are some standout moments with one particular scene almost entirely shrouded in darkness with a transition that made me wonder what a David Lynch western might look like.

For those worried about committing to another series, this finishes its story fully by the close of episode six. Not a classic but it doesn’t pretend to be and for what it is, it delivers.