Red Road

Cert: 18
Stars: Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, Nathalie Press, Andrew Armour
Director: Andrea Arnold
Five-second summary: A CCTV operator sees a man from her past and starts to stalk him

Full Review

Part of an intriguing and ambitious project to create three different films made by different directors, but featuring the same characters, Red Road sees writer-director Andrea Arnold, winner of an Oscar for her short film Wasp, make her feature film debut.

Jackie (Kate Dickie) is a CCTV operator in Glasgow who spends her days waiting for bad things to happen on the screens in front of her. One day she sees someone she recognises and a phone call confirms that Clyde (Tony Curran), someone she knows from some time previously, has been released from prison.

Shot exclusively in the grimmest corners of Glasgow, Red Road looks about as cheerful as it sounds. Arnold, clearly highly adept at working with cinematographers and actors, succeeds in creating an impressively ominous atmosphere and elicits brilliant and courageous performances from Kate Dickie and Tony Curran. Unfortunately, her tendency to hold back information is a little frustrating at times.

As Jackie starts to stalk Clyde, first via CCTV and then in person, we donÂ’t know what it is he actually did. Neither do we know why it is that the father of JackieÂ’s late husband has such a grudge against her. While it makes it impossible to guess what Jackie plans to do with Clyde, the reticence sometimes works against the drama.

When we later learn what she has been plotting, it is disappointingly implausible especially set against the gritty, realist environment that has been manufactured.

And yet Red Road still impresses just in terms of its texture, which remains in the mind long after the film is over. It also, hopefully, marks the breakthrough of the singularly talented Kate Dickie. Verdict: Accomplished, but flawed. A brilliant performance from Kate Dickie.

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