''Red Road'' is a 2006

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

film directed by

Andrea Arnold Andrea Patricia Arnold OBE (born 5 April 1961) is an English filmmaker and former actress. She won an Academy Award for her short film ''Wasp'' in 2005. Her feature films include '' Red Road'' (2006), '' Fish Tank'' (2009) and '' American Hon ...

and starring Kate Dickie,

Tony Curran Tony Curran is a Scottish actor who has appeared in the film '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006), the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010), the miniseries ''Roots'' (2016), and the Netflix historical drama film ''Outlaw King'' (2018). He appear ...

, Martin Compston, and Natalie Press. It tells the story of a

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

security operator who observes through her monitors a man from her past. It is named after, and partly set at, the Red Road Flats in

Balornock Balornock (, ) is a district in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated outside the city centre, north of the River Clyde, it forms part of the larger area of Springburn. Balornock shared the Red Road complex of multi-storey flats with the ne ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, which were the tallest residential buildings in Europe at the time they were built. It was shot largely in a

Dogme 95 Dogme 95 (; Danish for "Dogma 95") was a Danish avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" (). These were rules to create films based on the t ...

style, using handheld cameras and natural light. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' polled several filmmakers and film critics who voted it as one of the best British films in the last 25 years. ''Red Road'' is the first film in '' Advance Party'', a projected trilogy following a set of rules dictating how the films will be written and directed. They will all be filmed and set in Scotland, using the same characters and cast. Each film will be made by a different first-time director.

Plot

Jackie Morrison works in Glasgow as a CCTV operator, monitoring the Red Road Flats. She lives alone and engages in occasional sex with married man Avery. Jackie recognises a man she sees on the CCTV monitor and begins inquiring about him. It is revealed that he is Clyde Henderson, a prisoner who has been released early for good behaviour, but who will be back in prison immediately if he steps out of line. She begins stalking Clyde, tracking him on the CCTV monitors and gathering information about him. She follows Clyde to a cafe, and later learns he is throwing a party at the apartment he shares with a fellow ex-con by the name of Stevie. She gains entry to the party and begins exchanging looks with a drunk Clyde. They dance, but she makes an excuse and runs out of the apartment. After spotting Clyde on CCTV heading to a local bar, she goes there and sees him break up a fight between Stevie and another man. Stevie and his girlfriend return to Clyde's apartment, while Clyde initiates a conversation with Jackie before inviting her back to the apartment too. Clyde reveals he has a daughter, with whom he regrets having lost contact. Clyde and Jackie have passionate sex, but she runs from the bedroom and then sets Clyde up for a rape charge, striking her face with a stone and fleeing from the apartment block in view of the CCTV cameras. The police identify Clyde as the rapist and Jackie watches the arrest on CCTV, and a few moments later sees Clyde's daughter approach the apartment block. Later, Stevie gains entry to Jackie's home and demands to know why she has falsely accused Clyde. Jackie reveals that Clyde had killed her husband and daughter in a car accident. Jackie relents and tells the police she wishes to withdraw the accusation of rape. After Clyde's release, Jackie confronts him and they argue: Clyde describes the road traffic accident that killed Jackie's husband and daughter, explaining that he lost control of the car. Jackie reveals that her last words to her daughter were harsh. She tells Clyde that his daughter tried to reach him on the day of his arrest, and they go their separate ways.

Cast

* Kate Dickie as Jackie Morrison *

as Clyde Henderson * Martin Compston as Stevie * Natalie Press as April * Paul Higgins as Avery

Production

The cunnilingus scene between

and Kate Dickie is so convincing that many critics believed it to be real, such as Stephen Dalton in his article "Sealed With A Glasgow Kiss". The simulation was achieved simply through placing half a pear between Dickie's legs, which Curran licked and sucked, and angling the camera so as not to reveal the machinations of the mimicry.

Reception

Critical response

On review-aggregating website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has a score of 87% based on 90 reviews, for an average rating of 7.2/10, the critical consensus stating: "''Red Road'' director Andrea Arnold skillfully parses out just enough plot details at a time to keep the audience engrossed in this seductive thriller." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

* Cannes Film Festival 2006 – Jury Prize * BAFTA Film Awards 2006 – Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their first Feature Film * BAFTA Scotland Awards 2006 – Best Screenplay * BAFTA Scotland Awards 2006 – Best Actress in a Scottish Film (Kate Dickie) * BAFTA Scotland Awards 2006 – Best Actor in a Scottish Film (Tony Curran) * BAFTA Scotland Awards 2006 – Best Director * BAFTA Scotland Awards 2006 – Best Film * British Independent Film Awards 2006 – Best Actress (Dickie) * British Independent Film Awards 2006 – Best Actor (Curran) *

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...

2006 – Sutherland Trophy awarded to "the director of the most original and imaginative first feature film"

References

External links

*
''Red Road''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

*
British Films Catalogue

Cannes director urges CCTV debate

Interview with Andrea Arnold and Kate Dickie, Filmmaker Magazine Web Exclusives
{{Sutherland Trophy 2006 films 2006 directorial debut films 2006 independent films 2006 psychological thriller films 2000s British films 2000s English-language films BBC Film films UK Film Council films British independent films British psychological thriller films Danish independent films Danish thriller films English-language Danish films Fiction about false allegations of sex crimes Films about security and surveillance Films directed by Andrea Arnold Films set in apartment buildings Films set in Glasgow Films shot in Glasgow Scottish films Springburn Zentropa films English-language independent films English-language thriller films Cannes Jury Prize winners