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Too much of everything

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

If you enjoy being bored senseless, watch this film. There is so much wrong with it that it is difficult to know where to start, but the obvious place is the over-long completely unnecessary sex scene. I think it is very wrong to ask serious actors to perform such an explicit scene as this. Even it was plausible that she would try to set him up in this way, the scene does not need to be so long or explicit. (Unless of course the film was exploring her sexual frustration and needs, which it is not. She has already had a fumble in a car with a married man. So much for losing your husband - let's deprive another woman of hers). The whole premise for this type of revenge in the film is ridiculous anyway - would a woman who had lost her husband and daughter to this man's drug driving really be able to face having sex with him, never mind the intimacy of cunnilingus. I think not. And then suddenly she decides to drop charges - just like that. I think the police would have something to say about that.Another thing - an urn with the ashes of an adult male is surprisingly HEAVY - she carried the urns of her husband and daughter as if they were a loaf of bread. Also, i think this film needs subtitles - not for the thick Glaswegian accents but for the constant mumbling going on.

"Red Road" is an emotionally taut drama centered around a CCTV operator in Glasgow. Jackie, played by Kate Dickie lives a simple life monitoring the CCTV's and coordinating with local police. One day, she notices someone that she recognizes on one of the screens. Tony Curran plays Clyde whom is the star of Jackie's new obsession. What follows is nearly an hour and a half of her following this man growing more and more close to him. It is not until over an hour that we learn bits and pieces of why she has engaged in this cat and mouse game. The way the film was shot begs us to be patient as the answers unfold, which is a great aspect of this movie though the final outcome is a let down.As I said before the movie takes place in Glasgow. Now, I am normally pretty good at understanding British and Irish dialects; however, I was having a terrible time understanding most of what was said in this movie. The Scottish accent is impossible to understand at times. I wish it would have been subtitled as maybe I could have gotten more involved in the dialog. For a film reliant so heavily on the script, it was a difficult watch and took a lot away from the impact of the actions on screen.The plot was an interesting one, but it inevitably fails. I suppose it was a piece more on forgiveness than redemption but the style in which they filmed it was not conducive to learning the lesson they were trying to portray. This film has a really gritty feel to it and was shot beautifully. Cinematographer Robbie Ryan did an amazing job building a very tense atmosphere. His use of shadows and colors really draws the audience into the set pieces. I found myself on pins and needles expecting something incredibly moving or emotional. Sadly, I never quite got there."Red Road" has gotten a lot of great reviews on IMDb (6.8/10) and Rotten Tomatoes (88%). I think the reason for this was the cinematography and the acting. Both were outstanding. Katie Dickie and Tony Curran have great chemistry on screen and both seemed to give their all to this project. It's a shame that the film ended the way it did because these two actors could have really pushed the envelope had their been a different avenue to go in.I really only found one thing that stood out as far as direction goes. That is the way Arnold builds the tension. She only allows small bits of information to come through progressing the story at any given moment. A decision that worked well with the films photography. I was reminded of Michael Haneke who is one of my most favorite directors. This was Andrea Arnold's first full length feature film, had it not been for the actors and cinematography I don't think this movie would have been such a success.So, is this a thriller? A drama? Or, a mixture of both? For me, the only thing that could put this in the "thriller" genre is the slow pace and the tension. Other than that, this is a drama. Many reviews say as a thriller this works, but for me it just falls flat. I feel like the director should have stuck to one genre. In my opinion the movie would have been much more powerful had it kept the plot and was shot as a drama or changed the plot and shot as a thriller. But opinions are like assholes, we all have one, watch it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Jackie works at a city surveillance service in Glasgow. One night she see on one of the monitors a face from her past, a man just released from prison. This causes a major disruption in her bleak and hollow life. We know it has to do with something ugly and painful that happened long ago, and we fear for Jackie, as she starts taking more and more risks in an effort to get closer to that person.I saw this movie at my local videostore. A few months ago I saw and liked Fish Tank, the latest feature film by director Andrea Arnold, so I decided to give it a go. I was not disappointed. The acting was strong, and the story-telling gripping and thought-provoking.I find a similar feel in both movies, stories with female protagonists who cope with hurt and glum outlooks. Jackie is a much more extreme character than the girl in Fish Tank, but I'm pleased to find the same warmth and compassion underneath that hard shell.The world is such a scary place these days that cynicism and hopelessness feel like the easy way out in too many stories. It is refreshing to find narratives were hope is allowed to have the last word.

One on the most famous cinematic movement to come out of Britain is Kitchen Sink Realism. These are films that focus on hard-hitting issues, normally focus on working-class communities and do not whole back on anything. This is a movement has been around since the 1960s, and many British directors have used this approach, such as Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Shane Meadows. A new director is now joining their ranks: Andrea Arnold.Jackie (Kate Dickie) is a CCTV security operator in Glasgow; her job is simple, look and report any incidents. She is able to watch some familiar people like a man with his old bulldog, and a cleaner who dances to her MP3 whilst working. But Jackie is a lonely woman, her husband has died and she has pushed a lot of people away from her. One night when monitoring the Red Road Estate, one of the most deprived areas of Britain, Jackie sees someone who she never thought she would see again: Clyde Henderson (Tony Curran), the man who killed on husband. Jackie quickly becomes obsessed, following Clyde everywhere he goes with CCTV, calls his employer and even sees him going to a school and gives a schoolgirl money and make-up. Jackie even misses another schoolgirl getting stabbed. Jackie decides she needs to investigate further, goes to the Red Road Estate and starts spying on Clyde. She befriends Clyde's friends and attempts to get close to the man, plotting her revenge.Red Road is Arnold's first feature film, and she shows a lot of promise. She tells a slow burning story, letting it unfold gradually. She focuses on the characters, letting all of them develop naturally, showing that these are complex people with complex lives. She does not want to make a straight forward film and there is a complex morality throughout. This adds to the traditional of a more thoughtful type of independent film-making. Arnold keeps a realistic feel throughout, filming it like a document, using simple hand held cameras and obviously CCTV video tape. She shows the grim, tough area of Glasgow and how people's environment does affect them. She does not hold back on some of the more unpleasant subject matter and this film did deserve an 18 rating. Despite her skills as a director, Arnold's ability were not so good at this point. She has a very good premise for a thriller and she shows her passion to show this area of the world. But there are some plot holes that holds the film back from having a higher rating, like why don't people ask more about why Jackie is doing what she is doing, why she missed the stabbing and that should have been a warning to her. Wouldn't the police have asked questions and look into people's backgrounds? Arnold is obviously a talented woman and she just needed to tighten up her script to make her film better.Of course the acting is strong, the performance are more understated and realistic. The actors aim to be believable and complex, add to the character develop. Along with Arnold the performances are subtle; both vocally and physically.This is a worthy film for fans of independent cinema and kitchen sink realism. Arnold is a director to watch out for in the future.