The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe (2022) User Reviews

Enjoyable

[crumpytv · 8/10 · 24 April 2022]

If this had been fiction it would have been written off as ridiculous.

The fact that it is true makes it even more unbelievable.

It is hard to imagine what was going through John Darwin's mind to think he could get away with it, although he was ably assisted by such institutions as the passport applications and coroner's offices.

Top performances by Monica Dolan and Eddie Marsan.

It was hard to keep a straight face when Karl Pilkington was on screen.

Well worth watching

[Vindelander · 7/10 · 22 April 2022]

What an incredible story of incompetence and stupidity ! I didn't expect much of this series but Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan put in sterling performances in portraying the amazingly inept Darwins.

The story is riveting, particularly as it's true, and the cast and production team do a cracking job. Makes one proud to be British when we can produce criminals of such low calibre !!

Recommended viewing.

Well that was abit of great!

[EversonMovies · 8/10 · 24 April 2022]

This four part show had me and the Mrs gripped. I'm surprised by the lack of reviews for it but honestly everyone should watch this, great story, great musical story telling, great acting from the two mains.

Honestly give it watch.

Bouncy but fairly well made true life TV drama

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 7/10 · 15 May 2022]

STAR RATING: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Okay ** Poor * Awful

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. ***

One of the highlights of 2022.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 6 May 2022]

Truth is stranger than fiction!

John Darwin decides to fake his own death in a canoeing accident, in order to receive the insurance money, his wife Anne reluctantly goes along with his plan.

I truly enjoyed every single minute of this four part series, if this was purely fictional, you'd be busy saying how you need to suspend your disbelief, even in part four, you'll be pinching yourself that it's based on real life events.

It's amazingly well made, it has a very realistic vibe, I particularly enjoyed the third episode.

Monica Dolan, for many years she's been my favourite actress, and let's be honest, she is captivating here as Anne, Marsan is equally brilliant as John, talk about sensational casting.

Next time you see someone walking across the road with a canoe, just wonder what they're up to.

Captivating drama, 9/10.

Not a Story of Redemption that's For Certain

[Erik-Movie-Reviews · 7/10 · 23 April 2022]

An interesting story of two Self Absorbed Narcissists who seemed perfect for each other. Never a care or concern about how their selfish and criminal acts negatively impacted any one else in their lives, especially their sons or family. It seems clear these two co-conspirators are equally responsible for planning and carryout of their Financial Fraud, and equally share the blame for the fall out and consequences from their actions. It is amazing that their sons had the ability to try to forgive either of the parents for their long term deceit and selfishness.

The clear message from this True Story is that people do not change. If these two were again provided with the opportunity to do what's best for themselves at the expense of everyone else in their lives, they undoubtedly would.

Hopefully the UK has restitution laws that ensure any proceeds from this mini-series are turned over to the Life Insurance companies and financial victims these two defrauded.

Hat tip to Karl Pilkington. Nice Job in Dramatic Role. Keep up the Good Work!

An ITV Series where Eddie Marsan shines!

[handycloud · 9/10 · 21 April 2022]

I didn't really expect to be watching this series on ITV, but as I'm from Hartlepool I just had to take a look. I was happily surprised, mainly because of Eddie Marsan's performance is outstanding.

He is both endearing, manipulative and a delusionalist.

Endearing because of his smooth tongue. Manipulative in his seduction of his wife and a delusionalist for thinking he could get away with any of it.

Yes, it's true, this is not Seaton Carew, but the usual state of affairs for films telling you they are somewhere they are not.

As for the goof of the accent being from 25+ miles up the coast, that is totally wrong. The two stars have a very good Hartlepool accent. It isn't Geordie by a long stretch.

To get there you have to go through a few coastal territories, with what are called the 'Pit Yackers' of the old mining villages of Horden and Easington. Then we hit Sunderland, with the Mackems (famous for the Netflix series 'Sunderland Till I Die') and then, finally we get to Newcastle, home of the Geordie. For communities so close, geographically speaking, there is such a rich diversity of dialect.

So in this review, let's hear some praise for the dialect coach! They have done a great job here.

Beyond that, yes you know the outcome, but the journey is so rich, you will love the story, the characters and the performances of the lead talent.

Great leading actors

[alnewcastle1 · 7/10 · 18 April 2022]

Being from Newcastle I'm very impressed with the 2 leading actors doing Hartlepool accents. I'm always amazed when anyone can do convincing regional accents. Well done.

Superb acting - unbelievable true story

[tim-40191 · 8/10 · 21 April 2022]

Parts are slow , but the acting is superb . You loathe the characters you are supposed to and feel sorry for the others . It gets better and bette and was such an interesting story , yet so hard to believe . Worth watching.

Entertaining

[gallagherkellie · 6/10 · 28 October 2022]

This show was a decent entertaining one. It was only 4 episodes which is good, I love a mini series. The acting was really well done.

This show is shown from the wife's point of view, which makes it interesting but also means it's quite one-sided. I actually hadn't heard of this real life story before so I actually felt a little sorry for the wife, but after reading up on the story some more I think I was too quick to feel bad for her.

The poor sons honestly!! Darwin is a narcissistic idiot. He is truly portrayed as someone so stupid, and just doesn't think or care about how others feel. I can't for the life of me understand how he wasn't caught for that long!!

I only gave this a 6 because they tried to make me feel super sorry for Anne, and because even though it was entertaining and a little comedic, I did find myself not paying attention at times as it wasn't super gripping.

Anything You Canoe...

[Lejink · 8/10 · 28 April 2022]

I'm guessing the weak name of this series was initially a guide-title that somehow never got changed as the production progressed, but this offbeat four-part ITV mini-series on the life and crimes of fraudster John Darwin proved highly entertaining.

I must admit that I somehow missed this news story when it first broke in the U. K. some years ago but I don't know if I'd have believed it even if I had. Truly truth is stranger than fiction as you just couldn't make this stuff up!

Darwin, a middle-aged retired prison officer gets deep into debt after overstretching himself financially in the Buy-to-Let mortgage market and comes up with the blinding idea to take out a large life insurance policy, fake his own death, in, of all things, a canoeing accident and then persuade, although some might argue, actually coerce his long-suffering, much put-upon wife Anne to play her part as the grieving "widow" and then after a suitable period of time has elapsed, have her claim on said life insurance policy, before they reunite clandestinely later, his debts cleared and the couple in financial clover.

Unsurprisingly, things don't go exactly to plan, but by a combination of seeming luck and Darwin's ability to think on his feet when the going gets tough, he ends up assuming a new identity and the couple somehow get away with it as they end up abandoning their two loving, adult sons to live in comparative luxury in far distant Panama, being a country, it would seem with a rather lax immigration policy.

However, when it becomes impossible for Darwin to stay in that country any further without proof of his U. K. birthright, he boldly or recklessly, take your pick, decides to return to old Blighty, come back to life and plead amnesia. Even this appears to be going in his favour until an innocent picture taken at an estate agent's office in Panama proves to be the stitch in their story which starts to unravel from there.

Presented from narrator Anne's viewpoint, it's clear that the programme-makers had their own preset agenda in promoting Anne as very much the victim of her husband's emotional blackmail and bullying down the years. While it did seem unfair that she actually got a longer prison sentence than her husband, I must admit to having some feelings of ambivalence about her ongoing deception of her two children.

Still, the more unreal the elements of the story seemed, the more compulsive it proved to watch. Both the leads were convincing in their real-life portrayals, Eddie Marsan as the thoroughly unlikeable and charmless schemer Darwin and Monica Dolan as his doormat of a wife who slavishly but foolishly falls in behind her husband's hair-brained plan.

This was certainly one Darwin whose theory on natural selection proved wholly incorrect and whose own take on the survival of the fittest ethos didn't in the end, quite extend to successfully returning from his own death.

On the fence but so far pacing seems off

[Sayitasitis212 · 6/10 · 17 April 2022]

I'm committed to watching this series and equally intrigued to see how it unfolds but the pacing seems off to me after the first episode, rather than jumping from scene to scene with little explanation as to why John Darwin ended up in a state of mind to deceive his own children into thinking he was dead, I'd like to see more of an insight to the psyche of a man that can carry out a so seemed half hearted plan?

Watching with interest but I can't help thinking there's an interesting true story to be told with better writing and direction.

ponderous

[orlw-09298 · 5/10 · 4 November 2022]

In real life this was an interesting event, but chris lang has created a picture for us which is speculation unless he did this in cahoots with the family. I do hope that the family have not been rewarded for this.

Acting by main characters is very ponderous and it is frankly impossible to believe that any woman would act in the manner depicted.

The children were also depicted as missing a few shillings, and even though their mother was quite devious, she was still their mother and the lack of compassion (if factual) was very disappointing.

The drama did not need four episodes as it could have been fully completed in two.

Worth watching

[GladtobeGrey · 6/10 · 3 May 2022]

This true story is fascinating, and the two leads, Eddie Marson and. Monica Dolan, gave good portrayals of the Darwins. There is also a previous film starring Bernard Lee and Saskia Reeves made in 2010 by the BBC, 'Canoe Man' which is also very good. I thought Reeves depiction of Ann Darwin was spot on.

It's John Darwin's world, we're just living in it

[MattHankinson · 8/10 · 16 June 2022]

This man loves himself doesn't he.

Eddie Marsan, who I love from Ray Donovan Etc, completely transforms as Darwin, and if you see any of the real John's interviews, he gets his personality off to a tee. He's horrible John Darwin, but he does it all with a smile. He seems so ignorant to everyone's feelings and he jokes in the most innapropriate of times. Mark Stanley impresses much more than when I last saw him in Trigger Point.

I really enjoyed this series though. It didn't drag on. And as I seemed to have missed this news story when it originally broke I was intrigued to see how it all would pan out.

OK so far, but.......

[poolie59-1 · 7/10 · 19 April 2022]

....if you are bothering to film it in Hartlepool, why chose the Headland over Seaton Carew, where it's supposed to take place? Anyone from the north east would spot that straight off. And don't get me started on the accents. Hartlepudlians have an accent which is similar to that of Middlesbrough or Darlington (think Reeves and Mortimer) not Geordie. It's like setting something in Liverpool and having them talking in Manchester accents, sloppy.

Heartbreaking True Story

[debblesb · 9/10 · 15 May 2022]

OMG Can't believe this is a true story!

Really conflicted because I felt for the wife throughout, but ultimately she's guilty.

Beautifully acted and at a good pace.

Glad it was compacted to 4 episodes and not drawn out.

British True Crimes are done the best. 👌

another bland cliche

[howboutthisone_huh · 6/10 · 22 April 2022]

This is an interesting story with a lot of possible material for exploring but all they could come up with was the typical 'woke' cliche. I.e. A wife coerced and controlled because she had low self-esteem and living in a patriarchal society. We don't want to believe that women can be diabolical, cunning and great liars, particularly when they are mums. Fortunately, the prosecution service saw it differently but not the media who would never let a good story get in the way of the facts. I don't know these people, and I'm not intimately involved in their lives to say if this is all hooey but one thing for certain that they left out at the end. You can't rehabilitate yourself in the eyes of the system without giving up a pound of flesh. That is, it's almost for certain that the crown pressured her to divorce her husband if only to put the world back in right order as they perceive it. Maybe she would have divorced him on her own, who knows, but for certain the crown pressured her in one way or another. Also, most people say they would never, but it's always convenient to blame the other. It's always the optimal strategy especially when you're trying to boost your self-esteem. Probably won't be a sequel but it would be interesting to find out how her husband found himself married again and living in the phillipines but like most of this story, the producers went after the obvious choice cuts and left the tasty bits on the floor.

Excellent and highly enjoyable adaptation of an intriguing true story

[JRB-NorthernSoul · 8/10 · 17 April 2022]

New four part series based on the bizarre disappearance of John Darwin who faked his own death to escape his creditors.

Written by Chris Lang who created the brilliant 'Unforgotten' I had high hopes for this and wasn't disappointed. Both leads Monica Dolan and Eddie Marsan were outstanding, production values were high and the script was inch perfect. The jaunty score was lovely and set the tone beautifully.

Really enjoyed this series from start to finish, a quality TV drama in all respects, well done to all those involved in the making of it.

canoe? or kayak?

[trimellone-18840 · 6/10 · 22 June 2022]

The acting is the best part. The story has been done before, and much of the "plot" seems like filler.

As an American, I have a question: do the British call a kayak a canoe?

Don't Usually Enjoy These Dramas

[BrnzReviews · 8/10 · 21 April 2022]

I found myself checking this out as the story intrigued me on how you could do this to not only your own children but anyone for that matter, this story is beyond evil. We dive into the perspective of Anne Darwin (Wife to John) on what she and her husband did to their children and loved ones, their downfall and how everything turned out.

I felt this show was quite accurate with the true story of it, down to every little detail, I quote did like how much effort they put into this show, true stories are often very intriguing and I wish I could dive even deeper into this one.

Great watch!

Very good

[nassosk · 7/10 · 9 January 2023]

There is something about a story being true that keeps me on my toes, especially when I have not heard about the outcome or had the details beforehand.

Had you not been told that this story was true, you would find it neither believable nor interesting. You would just go: "nobody's that stupid". Seldom do you feel embarrassed on behalf of someone else but if that's on TV, well, that's amazing.

Cliché, but reality beats fiction.

All in all, this is a great piece of work: paced just right, with the right amount of length (4 episodes is just fine), good production values and some great acting, especially from the two leading actors.

Very refreshing work indeed (the story works by itself, really), and I 'll also tell you this: you get a few hours of "what's gonna happen next" entertainment without a single punch thrown or gunshot fired. This is getting more and more rare.

Thin on drama and content

[nick-615-60770 · 5/10 · 28 April 2022]

I remember every detail of this case very well.

The disappearance didn't register originally but in 2007 the story really was all over the news. I thought it fascinating.

All these years later and a dramatisation was inevitable.

Good cast, it's a good story but...., it certainly is not worthy of 4 episodes.

I guess because I knew the story I was not the audience they were looking for. For me it is very pedestrian but then it's about a British couple who look like they were ramblers pulling off a massive fraud.

It's ok, worthy of two hours of your life not four.

A cautionary tale of marital mayhem with a dash of "whodunnit"

[steveinadelaide · 7/10 · 31 December 2023]

The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe-where do I even begin with this TV series based on a true story? Imagine this: a middle-aged couple, John and Anne, hatch a scheme as crackpot as it is audacious: John fakes his own death in a kayaking mishap to claim insurance and escape their financial woes. Anne, bless her deluded heart, plays the grieving widow, while John shacks up in a dingy flat, pretending to be an amnesiac. Sounds bonkers, right? Well, it is! The acting's top-notch, especially Monica Dolan as Anne, who's equal parts loyal wife and accomplice-in-crime. But the script stumbles sometimes, blurring the line between dark comedy and, well, just dark. And let's be honest, the whole premise, while undeniably fascinating, wears thin after a while. It's like watching a train wreck-you can't look away, but you're also kind of cringing. So, is it worth your time? Sure, if you're up for a darkly comic true-crime tale with a healthy dose of "what were they thinking?" Overall, The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe is a mixed bag-intriguing premise, stellar acting-but loses steam and laughs along the way. Consider it a hilariously warped cautionary tale of marital mayhem with a dash of "whodunnit" sprinkled on top.

"Just like the Day of the Jackel, without of course killing the French President"

[ygwerin1 · 8/10 · 25 April 2022]

This show is based on the true story of John Darwin who rather than be declared bankrupt decided to fake his own death to claim on the insurance money, he expected his wife Anne to support him in this endeavour without bothering to inform his own sons Anthony and Mark of his intentions.

I hadn't heard of the case and have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of its complete ramifications, so I have no idea of how close this comes to the full reality of the actual case.

What strikes me from just the first episode is the complete stupidity of John Darwin this 'criminal mastermind' who genuinely believes that he has a foolproof scheme, yet at every step of even the initial stages he proves the he has absolutely no idea of what is actually involved.

He is completely deluded that he can actually survive any amount of time in the wild in a tent, when in reality he merely gets wet wading ashore and he's whinging about chilblains.

He expects his long suffering spouse to be in constant touch by phone because he's "lonely", even having the temerity when he phones her to be annoyed because she can't talk to him, as their sons and old bill are in the house.

Really his lunacy is highlighted in truly epic proportions when his wife Anne asked him what next after, he actually seriously considered that he could just "go where no one would ever think of looking for him, next door."