On TV: Thursday 8th December 2011
Channel: ITV1 9-10pm
Episode Type: 1/3
In 1 Sentence: A very emotional drama with the potential to be excellent thanks to its star talent...
ITV Summary: Without You is a brand new three-part drama adapted from the novel What to do When Someone Dies by writing duo Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. It stars Anna Friel in the lead role as school teacher Ellie Manning, a wife who is devastated to learn her husband died in a horrific car accident with a mystery woman in the passenger seat.
Stricken with grief and refusing to believe her husband is having an affair, Ellie sets out to find the truth of who the mystery woman is, and why she was in the car.
My Review: Gosh, I haven’t seen a drama that deals so well with death and grief for a long time. It’s the worst possible scenario you can imagine. Waiting at home for the one you love to get back from work, he’s late, minutes later the police knock on your door with news that will blow your world apart. But it’s what happens after Ellie’s husband’s death that is so gripping. Anna Friel is just excellent as the grieving wife. How do you tell your friends and family? All those small thing were dealt with very well and it was captivating to watch. The mystery that surrounds Greg’s death wasn’t immediately apparent. It wasn’t until Ellie, in her grief, begins to look deeper and deeper that perhaps all is not as it seems. And of course no one believes her, putting it down to her grief.
There were a few things that felt a little off and the whole drama is certainly not realistic in any sense. For example, when the police told Ellie of her husband's death they were incredibly blunt with her, in such a way that I really doubt real life police officers would be allowed to do.
Ellie also still sees Greg after his death and speaks to him, which was a bit cliche, but a nice way to see her work out her grief and is a good device to move the story forwards.
However at the end of the day it was a very engaging, touching drama with some great acting from both Anna Friel and Marc Warren that I shall definitely be tuning into again next week!
Score: 8/10
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