Walk Away and I Stumble (2005 TV Movie) User Reviews

Fantastic Drama from ITV

[c_sperl · 8/10 · 15 November 2005]

Well.....I have never given a TV Drama an 8 before EVER.

This I feel warrants it, as I don't think that I have ever watched such an emotive, powerful Drama that most people in their late 20's/30's will associate with almost immediately.

In my opinion, this is Outhwaite's strongest performance to date, and she is well supported by Julie Graham and Mark Strong. Hard to believe that this was the Ditzy Blonde from Eastenders not a million years ago.

All set in Wiltshire, which makes a pleasant change from London or Manchester as location goes, it tells the story of a happily married, family man who's head is turned by a single girl. The result is that he starts to view life completely differently, and puts everything on the line in the process.

Unfortunately, the girl, Claire (Outhwaite)is diagnosed with Cancer not long after they get together, and this forces some painful and at times heart-rending decisions by BOTH parties.

It stirs a lot of emotions, and for the more sensitive WILL end in tears.

There is a fantastic Soundtrack to this Drama, with classics from UB40, Led Zeppelin and most notably, Kate Bush. For anyone wondering what the Track was (and I've noticed some Bulletin Boards questioning it already!)the Track is This Womans Work, taken from the Album The Sensual World.

Whilst not renowned for it, I am hoping that ITV release this Drama onto DVD, or at the very least, re-run it in the near future.

Fantastic!!

Great stuff!

[Alicia123 · 8/10 · 23 November 2005]

There have been mixed reviews about Walk Away and I stumble, but I have to say that I enjoyed it.

The first part was a bit fast paced, moving the story along too quickly, and there was no chemistry between Claire and Andy. But, the concluding part made up for all of that! It was a heartbreaking story and you end up having sympathy for all the characters. I had tears strolling down my face at the end. There are no bad guys in this, and thats what makes it different to other dramas... Fantastic acting all round, especially the two leading ladies; Tamzin Outhwaite and Julie Graham, when they were together. Kate Bush's song 'This Woman's Work' was a good touch too, it fit in perfectly with Claire's situation.

It was a nice dedication to Tamzin's younger cousin, James Balwdin, who passed away with Cancer earlier in the year.

excellent show

[mnwankiti · 7/10 · 15 November 2005]

this show was great i think as it unexpectedly turns to the worse. however i was upset that this man left his wife for another woman yet he was still allowed to get back with her and they all lived happily ever after (except Claire who died) i was just thinking....if any one else watched this, can they tell me what they think. am i the only one who thinks that, that show was like so unrealistic. overall though it was good. i liked the way that you didn't actually see the funeral of the girl. i think if i had of seen that then i would have broken down into tears.... it would have been just too much for me to take. it also goes to show what a serious issue cancer is. u don't no when its going to take you. i mean she was only 32 and had no kids. Yet it was her time to go. LIVE EVERY DAY TO YOUR FULLEST....

Excellent

[louisenutting · 10/10 · 10 January 2006]

The preview to the film was great, so I just had to watch it. The use of Kate Bush' 'this womens work' was well suited to the film. A gripping few hours, of intense acting and well directed performance. I only wish it was on for longer. I would recommend this film to anyone with a heart. A true masterpiece, that will be remembered in many years. The actors were clearly well chosen, and I believe in giving credit where credits due. I would only like to see more talented work like this on a screen as there is a great lack of it. Walk away and I stumble is one of the best pieces of work I have seen in a long time, and its shouldn't be missed.

Very sad & moving....

[Migano2000 · 10/10 · 16 November 2005]

don't normally watch tearjerkers much, but as this was penned by the Spooks team I thought I would give it a go, and I am glad I did.

It was thought provoking, sometimes sad, sometimes funny and very moving...choking back tears at times! If you get a chance, watch it, as it was very well done indeed.

Oh, and if you're thinking that the grass may be greener outside your marriage/relationship (where you ARE actually happy but maybe considering straying...or have been tempted..) WATCH IT IMMEDIATELY.

I'd never rated Tamzin Outhwaite much as an actress, or Julie Graham for that matter, but they were both excellent. My only complaint would be the kinda syrupy bit near the end with the daughter and Claire...but that's a minor complaint...

Excellent

[ah012h1622 · 10/10 · 15 November 2005]

Fantastic Drama........

Tamzin and Julia at there best, Such an emotional storyline Everyone who I have spoken to watched the first part last night and I have had texts all the way through the 2nd part

It is an absolute powerful drama based on a Married Man who chooses to have an affair, and after telling and leaving his wife and family he learns his love interest has a terminal disease and has 4 months to live, He braves telling his wife the situation and the dying lady chooses to wed her ex partner and runs from the altar to be rescued by the married mans wife who chooses to care for her in her home where she dies....Fantastic A Must See

Sadly very lacking.

[daveogilvie · 5/10 · 20 November 2005]

ITV had built this up quite a lot as something you would not want to miss. Turned out it was something you would want to miss. There was a lot of potential about this story. However I believe they focused on the wrong things. The relationship between Andy and Claire just seemed nothing more than a one night stand. Yeah I know it was meant to be passionate, but just seemed to be had sex one night accept that they love each other and next part of the story. Considering this was on for two nights at 90 mins each it was a sloppy piece of work. Mark Strong (Andy) and Julie Graham (Elaine) were good and performed well, did feel like a husband and wife. Tamzin well she just seems to get big jobs for her looks and they just end up being projects that you think oh not another one. Though I don't think Gwyneth Paltrow could have saved this. Was just a mess and built up to be a heart felt, tear jerking drama. I watched this with the girl friend and I was in tears thinking could it last any longer. Finally did like the music Kate Bush.

You sometimes can't help falling in love.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 21 November 2021]

Imagine a scenario, you fall in love with someone, but you're married, in spite of that, you leave your family for someone else, but they're not well.

I have waited years to see this once again, and I'm so glad I got to, I thoroughly enjoyed it. An intensely moving, bittersweet story of love, heartbreak and human spirit. Drama is meant to move you, this had me bawling my eyes out, it really does play with your emotions.

Outhwaite is so incredibly beautiful here, the vision of her in a wedding dress, fabulous, and of course heart breaking.

That voice of Kate Bush, chills.

Matthew Graham, a great writer, but I class him as a sci Fi writer, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes etc, here he shows he can write drama, well melodrama to be more precise.

Loved it, 10/10.

Nice song - shame about the drama

[PMcManus54 · 4/10 · 20 November 2005]

This all started off quite promising but after the first hour it quickly descended into farcical melodrama. Mark Strong gave a somewhat wooden performance and was really acted off the screen by Julie Graham. Unfortunately she was hampered by a lousy script and and a daft incomprehensible plot line. Tamzin played her usual self. The scene where she dreamed she was drowning was a genuinely powerful moment but was soon lost in the overall tangled storyline. The whole thing was unbelievable and a waste of three hours viewing time.The sort of melodrama that leaves you feeling cheated.

Deeply disappointing.

What I thought - this is only a spoiler in that it tells you my opinion of the sadness/happiness of the ending!

[fairyfootsteps123 · 10/10 · 29 November 2005]

I have genuinely never seen a more "pause for thought" itv drama than this. I absolutely adored it. It was gripping, it did not drag on, it was moving - I was actually sobbing at the end - and the acting was completely believable. Admittedly, if you do not go in for curable films and prefer action this is not the film for you but if you like this genre of film, it is fantastic. I hope so much it is released on DVD. The music was amazing and the story showed almost every angle it could have done. It is one of those films that not seeing is missing out. I thought the pace was good and the ending, though sad, happy through what followed (you'll have to watch it to see what i mean!)It is a film you cannot forget in a hurry!

Truly heart warming, tear inducing drama - top quality!!

[kirstymckay82 · 10/10 · 15 January 2006]

When I first heart about this drama I was a little sceptical about it as I thought it'll be another vomiting inducing sugary drama about affairs and revenge but it was absolutely amazing. It is probably one of the best dramas i've had the pleasure of watching in a long time, if not thee best!! The only name in the whole 2 parter that I really knew about was Tamzin Outhwaite, the rest I hadn't really heard about before. I can honestly say that they were all excellent, all actors put in a great performance.

I would say it's a drama that provokes thought, it certainly made me think. I really hope that ITV continue to endorse drama like Walk Away and I Stumble as in my mind there's far too much reality TV programs or nonsense programs that dulls the brain. I know that not everyone will share my view there, there's got to be variation for everybody but personally i'd rather watch dramas like that everyday of the week than soaps and reality TV.

Walk Away and I Stumble - drama

[cd1-4 · 10/10 · 20 November 2005]

I'm a 6'3" 17.5 stone bloke who doesn't "do" dramas.This was one of the best dramas i have been forced to watch by my wife..(joke)..i think i see this from an angle that not a lot of people have been in as i was tempted by another women after my marriage went down hill for a while.This was a very true representation from the mans point of view as far as you can just get yourself in such a mess fighting your feelings when something like this happens.The guy was tempted by an attractive professional woman,but he was in love with his wife and seemed at the start to be very loving and touchy feel with her (grabbing bums and stuff when no one is watching)but got a feeling when he met this other woman..feelings he hadn't had for many years and acted on it.It looked at everyones perspective and i felt they did this very well.The acting was very believable and i was lost in this drama.The hard bit to swallow was when Claire(the mistress)found out she had a brain tumour and only had months to live and his wife took her in the family home to look after her and he returned to his wife?(i don't think many women would do this but some have so i hear).After the drama ended i was gazing at the TV for 2 minutes just in bits and when Kate Bush's song came on (this womens work)i kinda broke down much to the distress of my wife...i was just saying "i don't know why but that just cut through me like a knife,its just not fare".It was so good on so many levels as we were talking about it for hours afterwards and the more we talked the more questions we had which can be a bad thing but we didn't find this in this case,more could have been done but it could have spoilt it too we feel.All in all this was the best thing TV have had on in ages and it didn't include police stations ,speeding cars and not too much in the hospital.Tamzin was stunning also xxx.

Don't walk away from this TV film, RUN!!

[anxietyresister · 1/10 · 17 November 2005]

I had to be the first to get in a comment on this programme and let everybody know what I have just witnessed. Quite simply, it is the worst television drama I have watched this year so far. It was shown in two parts, and after the appalling first extract I have no idea why I sat through the second. I must be a budding masochist at heart. Anyway, this is car-crash TV at its best, with some truly horrible acting and direction combined with some of the most inexplicable character writing I've ever seen. To see it is to believe it.

Tamzin Outhwaite plays a 30-something woman who has an affair with a married man. His wife of 14 years in understandably devastated by this, as is his teenage daughter with the tragic haircut. But, when our Tammy finds out she has an inoperable brain tumour (Yep, that staple of TV weepies) and only a few months to live, she decides she is being selfish and sends him back to his partner. Then she decides, (for reasons unknown) to marry her slimy, cheating ex, but then has a last minute change of heart. What will she do next? There now follows a real shaggy dog story over 3 hours of drama, where nobody acts like a human being and the performances are even worse than the wretched dialogue (though it is a close run thing).

There will always be a market for this brand of undemanding soap-opera melodrama, which is guaranteed to have middle age women and soft hearted blokes tuning in in their droves. But in this particular case, the long list of flaws that come along with the blubbering make it beneath even the most lenient of expectations. A longer, more tedious mess of a production you'd be hard pressed to find, and if you ever watch this believe me.. you'll stop looking. Apparently Tamzin has dreams of Hollywood, but after seeing her in this I'd be surprised if she can get a walk-on part in Neighbours. She is expressionless, her delivery is as flat as roadkill, and when it comes to her crying scenes she looks like she's broken a nail, rather than dying of a terminal disease. Anna Friel she ain't.

Some people with very low standards may decide to hold for the ending, under the hope that they can have a good cry and forget all the other faults. But seeing as these are individuals we couldn't care less about due to their nutty personalities and unsympathetic actions, why should we give a damn? Believe me, I can be as emotional as the next guy. I got a bit teary eyed at the end of The Shawshank Redemption, and Titanic set me off completely. But then, those are in an entirely different universe of quality compared to this. So please believe me: the only sobbing you'll be doing at the end will be due to the loss of 180 minutes of your life that you'll never recover. Don't say I didn't warn you.. 0/10

Generally a good piece of drama.

[harrygoeshippy · 8/10 · 21 November 2005]

Laura or Helen or whatever you're calling yourself dude, you rocked man! I know I've already told you this but I figured I'd write it so everyone can see. OK, this was a very moving show which concluded in two parts, the first generally slow with not much action but the second provoking tears at some points, although maybe not when Tamzin died as she had managed to make a lot of viewers ultimately loathe her character. Having never been an Eastenders fan I can't say whether her acting skills have improved or not, I'd say that Tamzin portrayed the part of the husband-stealing cow very well, however you can almost feel some pity for her when she turned up in the second-part looking like she'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. However I (and my class feel) that the real star of the show was Petra (played by Laura Greenwood). Call me biased because she's one of my best friends but our entire school was in tears when she was on the car-park with the horse, and due to the fact most of us were keeping in contact during the show our parents could all hear a simultaneous yell of 'DON'T DO IT HELEN!'. We are also now united in hatred against the evil of the 'barn-boy' as we call him (the kid who spent the whole of his part on screen touching her up). On a whole this show gave us every type of genre we could want, with small let downs now and then such as the sex during the concert which I personally found...disturbing. Watch with an open mind and don't judge the actors on previous appearances and I believe you'll find you've watched a good piece of drama.

Dreary and Overly Long Soap

[Sonofamoviegeek · 1/10 · 25 August 2008]

This has to be the dreariest weepie I've ever watched and I've seen a lot. After all, we have the Women's Television Network here in Canada.

The problem is that the film lasts 180 minutes in two 90 minute segments. I despise the two-parter because the TV listings in Canadian newspapers never say that it's the first or second of two parts. Fortunately I looked it up in IMDb so I managed to tape both parts when it came on the CBC. Unfortunately, I looked it up in IMDb and saw the misleading good reviews this turkey received.

The subject matter of "Walk Away and I Stumble" doesn't deserve 180 minutes of examination. The main problem, a security system repairman with too many hormones (how many oversexed men have we seen in this genre) boinking a woman who discovers she has inoperable brain cancer (how many dying women do we need to see in this genre). So, the extra space is filled in with minor problems and sins, like the neglected pubescent daughter, the "good friend" after the neglected wife's pants and the ne'er do well boyfriend unable to commit.

Instead of filling in the dead air with all these side issues, the writers should have used the time to profitably explain the gaps in the main plot. I'm baffled by Elaine's change of mind about her sexual rival and her acceptance into the household. Maybe my inability to understand some of the sea changes in the characters is due to the mumbleitis that most of the main adult characters seem to be afflicted with. I don't know why I can understand the children and teens but the adults need subtitles.

I am a fan of the British film industry. They seem to do so much more with fewer resources than their American resources. But when the British film industry "drops a clanger", they can be world class at serving up turkey.

Ver Touching and Heartfelt Drama - Well Done Tamzin

[Blu_Eyez · 10/10 · 16 November 2005]

well, i saw the advertisement for this show and thought it looked quite good, considering I'm very sceptically about some ITV dramas, i decided to watch this, due to the fact i think Tamzin Outhwaite is an exceptional actress and she proved herself yet again, if not outdone herself in the touching drama about a young woman who begins an affair with a married man and even begins a relationship with him, after leaving his wife and kids of 13yrs, only to be diagnosed with a brain tumour and told she has no more than 4 months to live.

the story was very well written with amazing acting and a touching musical score and soundtrack behind it, the programme really speaks for itself with an average of 7.08 million viewers tuning in to watch the two part drama spoilers if you don't want to know the outcome don't read anymore ...

OK so the ending ...

Claire(Tamzine Outhwaite) breaks up with Andy(Mark Strong) and send him back to his wife and they decide to try and make it work.

when his wife, Elaine(Julie Graham) discovers Claires condition, she goes to find her and give her some support and in turn, Elaine takes Claire and invites her to stay with her family during her final months in which she does, and over time is excepted as a part of the family and she helps them through they're troubles up until her final moments of life, where in her final scene comes to terms with her impending fate and becomes peaceful.

and in the final touching scene we see Claires body resting in peace in a hospital bed as the Family that took her in are finally back together and closer than ever, while they all take part in a Run or Cancer, sponsored by One of the Cancer researches most successful benefactors 'Macmillan'

Overall a fantastic and touching drama, that i hope will make it to DVD, if it ever repeated or broadcast near you, i hope no one misses it as they would surely be missing a truly touching piece of work

music from the programme

[hoochygirl79 · 8/10 · 18 January 2006]

Please please please could someone tell me the title song from this drama?? I really enjoyed this programme and thought it was very sad, but with a sort of happy ending. It was a little strange as i did not expect Claire to move in with the family and it put me off watching the rest of the programme a little, but i carried on and it was really good. I really like Tamzin Outhwaite too! But what i really want to know is who sang the song? When i heard it on the adverts for the programme i thought it was lovely and i have heard it on a TV advert since then, and now i cannot get it out of my head - so if anyone knows, please tell me. Thanks!