Marian, Again

This two-part programme centres around a middle-aged family man who crosses paths with a former girlfriend whom he hasn't seen since their brief fling 15 years ago, when she disappeared from his life without saying a word.

When he first met her she was vibrant and fun to be around, now she is a bundle of nerves, never looking anyone in the eye and extremely pale. He can't believe this is the same person and he tries to make contact with her again using his contacts at the school where he works.

He soon discovers that she is living a terrible life with a partner that is not what he seems outside his home, and that his quest to find out about his old girlfriend is threatening his own family.

This is a gripping story that is extremely unsettling and will have you hooked from the very start.

As an American I found myself unfamiliar with most (if not all of the actors). Tomlinson I found puzzling as one commenter mentioned--wooden. But he does grow on you. In fact his portrayal if essential to the development of the character he creates.

Marian was a tour de force. A proper comparison to my mind is Bette Davis especially in Now Voyager where she transforms from a dowdy unattractive spinster into a radiant beauty in one single uninterrupted camera shot. I had to keep screaming to myself that this is the same woman before and after.

The 13 year old could not have been any more true to a 13 year old.

Very good movie, especially scary for parents with teenage kids. But, in the "fun stuff" line IMDb critic writes: "Marian kills her husband with a hammer". Either he has not seen the movie, or is seriously deranged, because who would call a kidnapper - a husband? And, when did Marian get married to his kidnapper?

The film preceded the scandal with Natascha Kampusch, by a narrow time margin. Anyone knows whether there were such real-life episodes in Britain, like the one in Vienna?

Casting is fine, acting is OK, two lines of the plot (separately) realistic, altogether a great late-night TV scare.

Have to say, I'm pretty fearless when it comes to film and telly viewing, and am anything but a prude, but I seem to be sensing a trend in much of the Brit programming that pops up in their Crimes of Passion Monday night library.

I found this "Marian" thing to verge on sadistic perversion for most of the way. Is this really what passes for "entertainment" these days? Unremitting sadism and corruption for three hours with a 60-second reprieve at the very end, just to put things right? I'm sorry, but two night's worth of atrocities does not find any kind of redemption with a minute of comeuppance at the conclusion.

At least with an old fashion slasher horror film, you know what you're getting into. Again, after a hard day of making a living, is this really what Brits look forward to as escapism...torture and sadism dressed up as "based on a true story?" Yuck.

For some reason the cast list here on IMDb shows only a secondary portion of the cast.

Stephen Tompkinson stars as the nervy teacher with a vulnerable family and a mysterious missing woman in his past. As is usual with Tompkinson his performance seems wooden and simplistic at the start but before too long you begin to empathise with his predicament and by the second half the strength of his performance comes out.

Owen Teale is the villain of the piece. Can't say too much without spoiling but a truly creepy performance.

Kelly Harrison plays the Marian of the title. An excellent performance showing her as a vibrant young teenager in flashback and an automaton under the control of Teale in the present time. All her body language conveys the anguish of captivity so well.

Samantha Beckinsale (still ever reminiscent of her father the late Richard Beckinsale - so much more so than sister Kate) is standard fare as Tompkinson's wife but does a sound job at showing an increasing unease at the revelations emerging.

Special mention must be made of the young actress who played daughter Olivia who had to show both as a normal 13 year old and some rather unusual goings on later.

All in all a very tense piece. So many of these ITV 2-part, 3-hour TV Drama Marathons leave you waiting for the end. In this one the 3 hours passes quickly and it's well worth catching up on if you can.