Miss Julie is an August Strindberg play about the inability to escape strict class and gender roles. It's deterministic viewpoint and less dimensioned characters are a drawback, but the right actors could make up for it. Saffron Burrows plays the title character and while she is very beautiful and brings a big dose of lust, she just doesn't have the skill to show the wilder, darker side of Julie. Oddly enough, the male lead has the opposite problem. Peter Mullan is a more experienced actor who gives Jean some depth, but he is about as lusty as rotting fish. There is supposed to be a certain amount of attraction, even if it is superficial, and this should be more fun. There is a dark sense of humor, a sense that the characters know that they are making the wrong choices, but they can't help it. With neither lead up to fully living their character, and only three characters in the script, this makes for a dull couple of hours.
Review of Miss Julie
