MISS JULIE is a film based on a play written by August Strindberg and directed by Mike Figgis . Strindberg was of course a Swedish dramatist who was famous for his unconscious predictions . One of his plays featured a Japanese character called Hiroshima who wanted to be burned alive and watching MISS JULIE any self respecting audience member will notice that the plot predates DH Lawrance's LADY CHATTERLY'S LOVER . This may make the story groundbreaking but it doesn't make it entertaining , erotic or interesting . In fact Figgis seems to have made a pig's ear of the whole thing by casting Saffron Burrows and Peter Mullan as the two protagonists of the story . Burrows is tall , slim and elegant while Mullan is a wee middle aged Scottish guy and the two of them make one of the most unlikely screen couples ever committed to celluloid and their lust filled relationship is very difficult to believe in . Figgis also fails to make the movie cinematic with most of the (in )action taking place inside a kitchen save for a few scenes in a studio exterior . It should also be pointed out that because it's a stage play the dialogue is very important but due to some very poor sound mixing it's almost impossible to hear what the actors are saying . Not that is unforgivable