The USA in 1890 was a fast-developing economic superpower, but away from the big cities the American mid-west was still a primitive environment where ruthless people trampled on and destroyed the weak and the naive. This is the world brought to us by 'The English' a new take on an old genre; the laconic dialogue, harsh but beautiful landscapes, and visceral personal confrontations are reminiscent of some of the Spaghetti Westerns, but this production has a deeper, darker heart. Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer are excellent as the two central characters, and their deepening friendship, blossoming into love, is entirely believable, even if it is doomed not to be fulfilled. It is the one bright part of a story that is unremittingly bleak; most of the characters have suffered an injustice, sometimes horrendous abuse, and this motivates a desire for revenge, whether against an individual, or society in general. That, perhaps, is my one slight niggle (other than I found it hard to catch some of the growled one-liners), the presumption that an injury has to be repaid in blood; there is no room here for redemption or forgiveness.
Review of The English
