All of us, at sometime or another, have had to cope with grief. Most people do not 'get over' the death of a loved one, they learn to accommodate it, while knowing that on the inside they are changed forever.
Some of us, unfortunately, also have to cope with causing hurt and destruction in the lives of others as a result of our own self-inflicted substance abuse. The subsequent guilt and self-loathing is never punishment enough.
What Red Road asks of the audience, is to believe that two people whose lives become intertwined as a result of such actions would resolve their relationship in the fashion this story relates.
Red Road is well-directed in terms of framing and drip-feeding the backstory to the audience, superbly acted, has admirable cinematography and creditable art direction. However, I did not believe this story. The script just did not have the power to achieve such towering heights of catharsis. Witness Clyde's final attempt at explanation for his horrible act: "This kind of thing happens every day. Sh#t happens." This is a line that conjures up no emotion at all, a cliché, from a character who did not deserve clichéd treatment. There are more glaring gaps in credibility - would the police not recognise the past connection between these two characters when she makes the rape charge? How can the CCTV footage of her escaping Red Road still be in the cupboard when it is evidence in an ongoing rape investigation? Can you really drop rape charges with just one phone call? And in a tale so grounded in realism, isn't it a heck of a coincidence that Clyde's daughter shows up when she does?
This is a promising but not wholly convincing debut from Arnold. I would not call her a wise filmmaker, but she is certainly brave. Arnold is not Scottish, but by setting a film like this in Glasgow she invites comparisons with Lynne Ramsay - not because they are two of that rarest of creatures, the female director, but because stylistically and thematically they are so close. Let Ramsay do her thing (which she does very well), and hope that Arnold finds her own voice and style. I will certainly look out for her next film.
Some of us, unfortunately, also have to cope with causing hurt and destruction in the lives of others as a result of our own self-inflicted substance abuse. The subsequent guilt and self-loathing is never punishment enough.
What Red Road asks of the audience, is to believe that two people whose lives become intertwined as a result of such actions would resolve their relationship in the fashion this story relates.
Red Road is well-directed in terms of framing and drip-feeding the backstory to the audience, superbly acted, has admirable cinematography and creditable art direction. However, I did not believe this story. The script just did not have the power to achieve such towering heights of catharsis. Witness Clyde's final attempt at explanation for his horrible act: "This kind of thing happens every day. Sh#t happens." This is a line that conjures up no emotion at all, a cliché, from a character who did not deserve clichéd treatment. There are more glaring gaps in credibility - would the police not recognise the past connection between these two characters when she makes the rape charge? How can the CCTV footage of her escaping Red Road still be in the cupboard when it is evidence in an ongoing rape investigation? Can you really drop rape charges with just one phone call? And in a tale so grounded in realism, isn't it a heck of a coincidence that Clyde's daughter shows up when she does?
This is a promising but not wholly convincing debut from Arnold. I would not call her a wise filmmaker, but she is certainly brave. Arnold is not Scottish, but by setting a film like this in Glasgow she invites comparisons with Lynne Ramsay - not because they are two of that rarest of creatures, the female director, but because stylistically and thematically they are so close. Let Ramsay do her thing (which she does very well), and hope that Arnold finds her own voice and style. I will certainly look out for her next film.