The English is finally set to land on BBC on Thursday night, and sees Emily Blunt take centre stage as an English lady, Cornelia, attempting to make her way across midwest America for a mysterious reason, when she is aided by Eli Whipp, and the pair become close companions as their worlds collide. It sounds like an interesting premise, but is the show worth watching? Find out what early reviews have been saying…
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According to Rotten Tomatoes, critics have given it an admirable 80 per cent rating, with the official consensus reading: "A visual knockout elevated by Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer's performances, The English is a heady and somewhat meandering Western made with admirable craft."
WATCH: The English trailer starring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer
Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Tim Robey wrote: "The English could venture in almost any direction – geographically, dramatically – and this is precisely why it grabs you, as unpredictable storytelling with a jagged flair for the macabre," while Rolling Stones’ Alan Sepinwall added: "I couldn’t tell you a lot about why things happen, and yet it was a pleasure to sit through another Hugo Blick tale of a woman finding herself on foreign soil, navigating a labyrinthine story tied to long-hidden secrets."
Starring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer
Other critics weren’t so sure, with Niv M. Sultan of Slant Magazine writing: "In the end, The English, at war with itself, succumbs to its own romanticism."
The show landed on BBC iPlayer on Thursday
Speaking about the show herself, Emily teased to The Telegraph: "I love a character with a secret. And I loved Cornelia's buoyancy, her hopefulness, her guilelessness. It's the worst thing ever when you open a script and read the words 'strong female lead'. That makes me roll my eyes – I’m already out. I’m bored. Those roles are written as incredibly stoic, you spend the whole time acting tough and saying tough things.
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"Cornelia is more surprising than that. She’s innocent without being naive and that makes her a force to be reckoned with. She startles Eli out of his silence and their differences become irrelevant because they need each other to survive. I thought that was very cool."
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