''Passer By'' is a 2004 British

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

in two parts on 28 and 29 March 2004. It was directed by

David Morrissey David Mark Joseph Morrissey (born 21 June 1964) is an English actor and filmmaker. Described by the British Film Institute as "one of the most versatile English actors of his generation", he is noted for the meticulous preparation and research h ...

from a script by Tony Marchant and stars

James Nesbitt William James Nesbitt (born 15 January 1965) is an actor from Northern Ireland. From 1987, Nesbitt spent seven years performing in plays that varied from the musical '' Up on the Roof'' (1987, 1989) to the political drama ''Paddywack'' (1994) ...

as Joe Keyes, and

Emily Bruni Emily Bruni (born 1975 in Exeter, Devon) is an English actress. She trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In 2000, she played Tanya in the drama Metropolis by Peter Morgan. She starred alongside Rik Mayall in the sitco ...

as Alice.

Plot

Joe Keys is a man who sees a young woman called Alice accosted by some men on a train one night. Alice looks to Joe for help but he ignores her predicament and gets off the train. A few days later, the police are seeking witnesses to a sexual assault against Alice. Joe unwillingly comes forward but, when giving evidence against the men in court, cannot bring himself to admit that he did nothing to save Alice.

Production

The film was commissioned by the BBC's director of serials Laura Mackie at the outline stage. Marchant did not want to extend the script to any more than two parts because he thought two was the right length. He previously worked with Morrissey and producer David Snodin on the 1997 television series '' Holding On''. The script went through five drafts; refinements included making Joe's wife less judgmental, and seeing other characters in the wider world reacting to Joe. It was filmed over 30 days.

Reception

The first part received 6.9 million viewers, and the second part 6.7 million (28% audience share). The second part was the first time BBC One won the 9–10 p.m. timeslot in two months. Final ratings, accounting for viewers who recorded it to watch later, brought part one up to 7.47 million and part two up to 7.54 million. ''Passer By'' received negative critical reaction from the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

''. It was repeated by

UKTV Drama Alibi is a British pay television channel that was launched on 1 November 1997 as UK Arena. It was renamed UK Drama in 2000, and then UKTV Drama in 2004, and assumed its current name on 7 October 2008. History The channel originally launched ...

on 28 December 2004 as a single feature-length film.Staff (18 December 2004).
Television: Tuesday 28 December
. ''The Times'' (Times Newspapers).

References

External links

*
''Passer By''
at

BBC Online BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Passer By (Tv Film) 2004 British television series debuts 2004 British television series endings 2000s British drama television series BBC television dramas 2000s British legal television series 2000s British television miniseries BBC Film films Films directed by David Morrissey Films scored by Dario Marianelli Films set on trains Films about rape English-language television shows