The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe (The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe)

Origin and Year: Great Britain, 2022 Director: Richard Laxton
Runnning time: 2 x 51 min

The Brits are dealing with the true crime genre in their own way. In this tragicomedy based on a true story, we meet the Darwin couple who attempted the most absurd insurance scam at the turn of the millennium. When John Darwin was threatened with bankruptcy, the former teacher from a small port town decided he would not allow such a failure in his life. He spent the following years faking his disappearance, and only his wife knew the truth about his whereabouts. With typical British civility, this series about ordinary people captures both the consequences of one stubborn man’s crazy idea and the dynamics of a manipulative relationship. Told from the perspective of John’s wife, the story attempts to grapple with the question of how she experienced the whole thing as an unwilling accomplice.