Into the Woods

“The English Game” is the most recent production from Julian Fellowes, who brought us “Downton Abbey.” It was produced by Netflix, premiered last March, and is available for streaming.

The game is football, which we Americans call soccer. The themes, as with “Downton Abbey,” are class conflict, class reconciliation, and social change. The story begins in England in 1879. Football, developed at places such as Eton College, is regarded as a gentleman’s sport, but football also holds a great appeal to the working class. Two professional Scottish footballers are hired by an English mill owner to play for the mill town’s team. In episode 1, the mill town team first encounters a gentleman’s team in a quarter-finals game at Eton. Class-based unfairness starts up the plot.

Some of the situations are a touch melodramatic, and the series certainly doesn’t have the glamour and appeal of “Downton Abbey.” The cast, though, is excellent. The reward for watching it comes not so much from the plot as from the character development. It’s always a good sign when the cast, characters, and dialogue are good enough for the camera to fill the frame with the characters’ faces.

I’m wondering if I’ll ever be able to properly understand Glasgow accents, though. I’m not the only one. There are many funny YouTube videos about understanding Scottish accents. Strangely enough, I do understand the Scottish MP is this video: