From the mind of Stefan Golaszewski, who also created Mum and Him & Her, Marriage follows the everyday (read mundane) lives of Emma and Ian, portrayed by Nicola Walker and Sean Bean, and their 30-year marriage.
Marriage deals with the humdrum of family life, alongside challenging themes such as redundancy, interracial adoption, and toxic relationships. The episodes show us snippets of the protagonists’ lives, while giving us no closure on any of the events we witness.
The first episode introduces Emma and Ian at the airport where they are seen bickering about jacket potatoes and chips. Throughout the series, we learn that the couple suffered the loss of a baby, leading them to adoption. Their adopted daughter, now grown up and living outside of the family unit, struggles with her parents’ lack of communication, urging them to speak more directly to each other. Generational bonds are explored in a tender and lifelike manner, demonstrating the tensions that can arise amongst different generations.
There are very realistic moments of tension in Marriage, alongside funny scenes that have you laughing out loud. Walker’s acting, as ever, is incredible. Her ability to show so much emotion through one facial expression or one line is what makes her character so real. Her portrayal of Emma in Marriage shows us that she is a versatile actress- she can not only perform well in fast paced dramas, but also in more mundane, ordinary life moments.
The intro music has become a point of contention among critics, with some praising the acapella piece, while others described it as jarring. Appearing somewhat out of the blue, its loud volume serves as a sharp contrast to the quiet dialogue. The song, credited as Partita for 8 voices: No 1, Allemande was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013, dubbed as one of “the best classical music works of the 21st century”. Regardless of whether you’ve watched the series, it’s definitely worth a listen.
This was not a show you could have on in the background while having a conversation- it demands your full attention. The beauty of this series is that nothing really happens. After watching four hour-long episodes, you’re left heavily invested in the lives of the couple yet begging for questions to be answered. Whilst I appreciated the creative approach-there are very few shows which take this slow-paced approach- I did end the series feeling disappointed that none of my questions had been answered and that there was no clear character progression in the series.
This series had so much potential, though I feel the four episode format limited the amount of story that could be uncovered. I would love to see a second series, particularly focusing on Ian’s mental health and subsequent outbursts following his redundancy.