Red Road (2006)

Given the number of crap movies out there, the relief of finding one that is good, let alone excellent, is almost palpable. Red Road is one such movie. The characters are based on ideas from Lars von Trier, with other writers/directors doing the story/movie. This particular movie made in 2006, is set in Glasgow. In keeping with most movies in Glasgow it's not the glamourous pretty arty side, rather it's the gritty dark grotty side most of us are used to seeing (sorry Neil).

The main character, Jackie, works as a CCTV operator and recognises a man, interestingly the story is not fleshed out quickly - it's developed slowly, who he is, what he did to her, and how she's going to deal with things. Rather than ruin the story, I'm going to leave discussion of the plot.

What I absolutely loved about this movie was the story development. Nothing is clear cut, nothing is laid out, nothing is obvious. The slow release of Jackie's backstory, the guy's backstory, his future, her future and how the two will intersect. The acting is superb and I cannot get over how engrossing the character development was. It was incredible how the levels of empathy as a viewer changed towards both Jackie and her protagonist. Given what the man did do to Jackie (which is eventually revealed), the scripting to manipulate the viewers impression of him, the act, and Jackie is brilliant. Her confrontation, his response, his flatmates response. The casting is perfect, the acting perfect, the scripting perfect. The setting is fascinating given rants I've had (see November last year) about the Big Brother surveillance in the UK. The setting is interesting and adds to the character development, allowing them to respond to what is a basically a bleak hostile environment.

Basically if you like character based stories, which are brilliantly developed and showcase what movies are capable of, go see this movie. It's certainly going down as one of the highlights of my film watching.

Very impressed, B.