Red Road

Back in 1995 Sean Penn wrote and directed The Crossing Guard. The movie starring Jack Nicholson was about a tortured father seeking vengeance against the drunk driver who killed his daughter. Like most of Penn’s directing work it was a maudlin exploration of human suffering. Not awful, not exactly provocative either. Red Road covers similar ground but exchanges depressing tonalities for thrilling intrigue.

Kate Dickie plays Jackie, a quiet, lonely woman who works as a CCTV operator in Glasgow’s Red Road slum district. She spends her days observing rows of monitors in an effort to curtail neighborhood crime. One day she eyes a man she recognizes, a man who awakens disturbing memories. The man is Clyde Henderson, a locksmith with a criminal past. At first, Jackie uses her job to track Clyde’s movements. Once her obsession escalates, she begins to follow him on foot. Jackie remains fearful but her dogged pursuit ultimately brings her face-to-face with Clyde.

Jackie crashes a party, befriending Clyde’s roommate Stevie, before dancing intimately with Clyde himself. Battling disgust, she nevertheless becomes attracted to her lecherous tormentor. Unable to control her desires an inevitable sexual encounter occurs, leading a panicked Jackie to spring a trap on Clyde with an accusation of rape. Clyde’s tragic connection to Jackie is finally revealed. After years of hiding, Jackie confronts her hatred in hopes of burying it forever and finding a path to forgiveness. To do so is to live again.

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Writer/director Andrea Arnold’s debut feature-length film packs a wallop. Set at a methodical pace, the story unfolds like an old-fashioned mystery. Who is Clyde Henderson? What does Jackie want with him? Hints are dropped along the way but the picture is clouded until the powerful ending. Kate Dickie, who I’ve never seen before, delivers an impressive performance as the haunted, withdrawn Jackie. She carries the film admirably. The best thing about Red Road is its sparseness. No over-the-top acting, no over-dramatic score, no shocking climax; just a tightly woven plot that reaches a satisfying conclusion. In other words, what movies should be.

The trailer for Red Road: