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John Darwin (Eddie Marsan) was a prison officer from Hartlepool, who lived there with his wife, Anne (Monica Dolan) and their two grown sons Mark (Mark Stanley) and Anthony (Dominic Applewhite.) After racking up a considerable amount of debt, he hatched an elaborate plan to fake his own death, so his wife Anne (Monica Dolan) could claim on the life insurance, by being seen to be heading out to the local beach with a canoe, and never to be seen again. Despite Anne's resistance to the plan, John coerced her into going along with it, and he was even able to begin a new life abroad, until the plot began to crumble and it all fell apart.
Even if the greatest imagination of the best TV writer was to come up with something to the best of their talents, sometimes a particular real life event can be even more incredible than even they could imagine. These events can come along every so often, and this dramatisation of the real life case of the Darwins and their ill conceived insurance fraud is one such case, a tale that just had to be filmed for screen. Director Richard Laxton and writers Chris Lang and David Leigh have created a project that captures the humanity and mundanity of this infamous pair, and achieves the desired effect to a greater and lesser degree.
It's presented in a light hearted, comedic style in the publicity poster, but plays out in a more cold, sterile way in the execution, with dark, moody lighting capturing most of the scenes. In portraying the outrageousness and incredulity of the story, Laxton doesn't let the audience forget that this was a real life case that had a real life human cost and consequence, breaking hearts and tearing a family apart through cruelty and lies. Performances wise, Marsan is one of, if not the best character actors around at the moment, who can turn his hand to anything, and nails Darwin's North Eastern accent and mannerisms, while Dolan ages up and encapsulates the dowdiness of Anne just perfectly. It's shattering just how dull and ordinary this pair appeared, but then nothing is as it seems on the surface, and we delve into John's use of coercive behaviour to get Anne to do things against her will. The eponymous Karl Pilkington also appears in a supporting role as one of the detectives.
Fact is often stranger than fiction, and sometimes more compelling. This was a tale that begged to be put to screen, and while it's never as dynamic and striking as it could have been, it's well acted, quite well made and definitely worth your time. ***
John Darwin (Eddie Marsan) was a prison officer from Hartlepool, who lived there with his wife, Anne (Monica Dolan) and their two grown sons Mark (Mark Stanley) and Anthony (Dominic Applewhite.) After racking up a considerable amount of debt, he hatched an elaborate plan to fake his own death, so his wife Anne (Monica Dolan) could claim on the life insurance, by being seen to be heading out to the local beach with a canoe, and never to be seen again. Despite Anne's resistance to the plan, John coerced her into going along with it, and he was even able to begin a new life abroad, until the plot began to crumble and it all fell apart.
Even if the greatest imagination of the best TV writer was to come up with something to the best of their talents, sometimes a particular real life event can be even more incredible than even they could imagine. These events can come along every so often, and this dramatisation of the real life case of the Darwins and their ill conceived insurance fraud is one such case, a tale that just had to be filmed for screen. Director Richard Laxton and writers Chris Lang and David Leigh have created a project that captures the humanity and mundanity of this infamous pair, and achieves the desired effect to a greater and lesser degree.
It's presented in a light hearted, comedic style in the publicity poster, but plays out in a more cold, sterile way in the execution, with dark, moody lighting capturing most of the scenes. In portraying the outrageousness and incredulity of the story, Laxton doesn't let the audience forget that this was a real life case that had a real life human cost and consequence, breaking hearts and tearing a family apart through cruelty and lies. Performances wise, Marsan is one of, if not the best character actors around at the moment, who can turn his hand to anything, and nails Darwin's North Eastern accent and mannerisms, while Dolan ages up and encapsulates the dowdiness of Anne just perfectly. It's shattering just how dull and ordinary this pair appeared, but then nothing is as it seems on the surface, and we delve into John's use of coercive behaviour to get Anne to do things against her will. The eponymous Karl Pilkington also appears in a supporting role as one of the detectives.
Fact is often stranger than fiction, and sometimes more compelling. This was a tale that begged to be put to screen, and while it's never as dynamic and striking as it could have been, it's well acted, quite well made and definitely worth your time. ***