''Marian, Again'' is a two-part British

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and co ...

serial, written by Ben Court and Caroline Ip and directed by David Drury, that broadcast across two consecutive nights on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

from 5 September 2005. Filmed in and around

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and on Ballaugh and

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

during May and June 2005, the serial is based upon the real-life

kidnapping of Colleen Stan Colleen J. Stan (born December 31, 1956) is an American woman who was kidnapped and held as a sex slave by Cameron and Janice Hooker in their Red Bluff, California home for over seven years, between 1977 and 1984. At Cameron Hooker's trial, Stan ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Also taking inspiration from the cases of

Marc Dutroux Marc Paul Alain Dutroux (; born 6 November 1956) is a Belgian convicted serial killer, serial rapist, and child molester. Initially convicted for the abduction and rape of five young girls in 1989, Dutroux was released on parole after just thr ...

and

Natascha Kampusch Natascha Maria Kampusch (born 17 February 1988) is an Austrian author and former talk show host. At the age of 10, on 2 March 1998, she was abducted and held in a secret cellar by her kidnapper Wolfgang Přiklopil for more than eight years, un ...

, ''Marian, Again'' follows married father of three Chris Bevan (

Stephen Tompkinson Stephen Phillip Tompkinson (born 15 October 1965) is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in '' Chancer '' (1990), Damien Day in ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in ''Ballykissangel'' (1996–9 ...

), who whilst taking his daughter to school exam, seemingly catches sight of his first girlfriend, Marian Walsh (

Kelly Harrison Kelly Harrison (born 1980) is a British actress. Initially a model for four years, she was cast in BBC's Saturday night programme, ''Casualty'', as paramedic Nikki Marshall. Harrison has also appeared in ''Born and Bred'', '' Waking the Dead'', ' ...

), who mysteriously disappeared fifteen years ago and has not been seen or heard from since. ''Marian, Again'' broadcast over two consecutive nights, with parts one and two attracting 6.76 million and 5.95 million viewers respectively. The serial was released on DVD in Denmark on 13 September 2006, but this remains the only official release worldwide.

Reception

Mark Cunliffe for ''

Letterboxd Letterboxd is an online social networking service co-founded by Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow in 2011. It was launched as a social app focused on sharing opinions about, and love of film, and is maintained by a small team in Auckland, New ...

'', who viewed the serial in 2015, wrote; "This is a gripping psychological chiller. ''Marian, Again'' may look a teensy bit dated in terms of today's TV movies - it's often drowned by an unnecessary score - a common complaint with TV from this period - but it remains a deeply absorbing and uncomfortable watch. Be warned though, its content may not be for everyone."

Plot

Chris Bevan (

) encounters his first love, Marian Walsh (

), fifteen years after her abrupt disappearance. Although he had accepted her loss and moved on, he—now a married father of three daughters—is intrigued, confused, and eager to know why she suddenly left. What he doesn't know is that she was abducted by Bernie (

Owen Teale Owen Teale (born 20 May 1961) is a Welsh character actor known for his role as Ser Alliser Thorne in the HBO fantasy TV series ''Game of Thrones''. Early life Owen Teale was born on 20 May 1961, in North Cornelly, south Wales, son of Roy and ...

), a creepy regular at her father's D.I.Y. store. After years of physical and mental torture at Bernie's hands, Marian is a shadow of her former self and has been convinced by Bernie that she's someone named Susie. Chris must now fight to save the woman he loved, but it's more difficult than he had anticipated.

Cast

as Chris Bevan *

as Marian Walsh *

as Bernie Sullivan *

Samantha Beckinsale Samantha-Jane Beckinsale (born 23 July 1966), known professionally as Samantha Beckinsale, and Sam Beckinsale, is a British actress. She played firefighter Kate Stevens in '' London's Burning''. Early life Beckinsale is the only daughter of ac ...

as Josie Bevan *

Paul Copley Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voiceover artist. From 2011 to 2015 he appeared as Mr. Mason, father of William Mason, in 16 episodes of ''Downton Abbey'', and from 2020 to 2021, he appeared in the ITV soa ...

as Philip Walsh * Katie Ross as Olivia Bevan *

Grace Cassidy Grace May Cassidy (born 24 March 1993) is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress in the BBC One drama '' The Chase'' (2006–2007), the CBBC series ''Grange Hill'' (2007–2008), and the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2009–2 ...

as Esme Bevan * Amy Lythgoe as Tilly Bevan * Jack Harrison-Cooper as Brandon Brison *

Stuart McQuarrie Stuart McQuarrie (born 19 March 1963) is a Scottish actor who has starred in several acclaimed films, including ''Trainspotting'' and '' 28 Days Later''. Besides numerous film and TV appearances McQuarrie has performed extensively in theatre th ...

as Jim * Natalie Richards as Frances * Junaid Iqbal-Wahid as Sonny * Shahed Ali as Suraj *

Sian Gibson Siân Gibson (née Foulkes; born 30 July 1976) is a Welsh comedy actress and television writer. She has collaborated with Peter Kay, including starring in and co-writing the comedy series ''Peter Kay's Car Share'', for which she won the 2016 BA ...

as Fiona * Patrick Connolly as PC Quinn * Peter Slater as PC Sanders

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0476301
Official website
2005 films 2005 television films 2005 psychological thriller films British thriller television films British psychological thriller films Films directed by David Drury 2000s English-language films 2000s British films