Marriage: BBC viewers divided over slow, realist Sean Bean drama
15.08.2022 - 13:21
/ msn.com
Sean Bean’s new drama, Marriage, has divided viewers after premiering on BBC One last night (14 August). The four-parter is an intimate portrait of Bean and Nicola Walker’s married couple, Ian and Emma, who have been together for 27 years. Marriage is, to put it mildly, slow.
At one point, there is a seven-minute sequence following the preparation of a sandwich. It was too slow for some viewers, including our critic Nick Hilton, who wrote: “If I wanted to watch a man in his underpants drinking milk straight from the carton, I could provide myself with a live performance. And the subtext would be just as oblique and, possibly, non-existent.
“’It was a bit boring, maybe,’ Ian confesses, of another day passed in the haze of redundancy. ‘God, I’d love a chance to be bored,’ Emma replies. Well, boy, Emma, do I have the show for you.
”One Twitter user posted: “Something has gone horribly wrong when my mundane life is more exciting than a prime time BBC drama. ”Another added: “I need to report a robbery. BBC One just stole an hour of my time with their new drama-less drama Marriage.
”“How can a programme with both Sean Bean and Nicola Walker in be so dull and boring??? Waiting for something to actually happen,” said a third. A fourth person argued the show is not relatable. “OMG I’ve not watched anything this boring in YEARS and as someone who is middle aged and 30years married this is NOT a true reflection of day to day life.
. . .
. thank god!”Many other viewers disagreed, praising Bean and Walker’s performances and the drama’s lightness of touch. “Sorry but Marriage on the BBC is stellar.