What we have here is one of those very long, very slow dramas that might just have worked if the inevitable twist ending had been worth sticking around for. But it isn’t.
Comment
10/27/06
Red Road (2007)
88
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:82
Fresh:72
Rotten:10
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Red Road director Andrea Arnold skillfully parses out just enough plot details at a time to keep the audience engrossed in this seductive thriller.
Theatrical Release:27-10-2006
Synopsis: Developed at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and winner of a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes International Film Festival, Red Road is a bristling, atmospheric thriller that rumbles with... [More]
Starring: Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, Natalie Press
Director: Andrea Arnold
Reviews for Red Road
A slow-burning but enticing thriller, it captures its working class Glaswegian setting in absorbing detail.
11/02/06
Top Criticsome may find the denouement a tad sentimental, but it is a long, dark and twisted journey that takes us there, scrutinising the shadier contours of human loss and guilt like a grainy face on a screen.
06/13/07
Top CriticIt’s incredibly tense.
10/28/06
Top CriticWhere it excels is in capturing the dead end hopelessness of Glasgow's boozers and tower blocks.
10/31/06
Top CriticKatie Dickie gives an astonishing performance as Jackie, displaying a cold, brittle exterior that occasionally cracks to reveal both pain and passion in equal measure.
10/21/06
An extraordinarily mature and thoughtful film.
10/28/06
A strong story--involving and moving and probably a little too long.
08/19/06
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06/16/07
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10/12/07
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04/23/09
For a voyeuristic medium, this tale of a voyeur does a poor job of prying into its own protagonist's life.
06/01/07
No drab stone is left unturned
08/27/09
The acting in 'Red Road' is understated and superb, however that doesn't compensate for the overall dreariness of this film.
05/08/07
This psychological thriller does have a few effective moments. However, it goes a little further - too far, in fact. There are some sexually explicit moments in this that would likely garner an NC-17 rating had it been submitted to the U.S. ratings board.
05/18/07
Unfortunately, its superb performances and assured camerawork are overwhelmed by dubious psychology and a clichéd climax.
10/26/07
An odd, unsatisfying meditation on grief.
01/26/07
By limiting our entry into Jackie's headspace, Red Road feels disingenuously committed to sympathetically portraying her situation, partly using her circumstances as pretense for narrative suspense.
01/18/07
A woman-directed film that aspires to compete on that predominantly male turf, not with an opposing and challenging female perspective, but by stepping up to the plate to make a sexually voyeuristic, sluttier than thou movie about women.
05/26/07
[Director Arnold] drops the voyeurism theme almost entirely, a bait-and-switch that doesn't cripple Red Road so much as snip off its richest and eeriest thread.
05/11/07
Latest News for Red Road
September 09, 2009:
Andrea Arnold talks Fish Tank - RT Interview
Having bagged an Oscar for her short film Wasp and a Cannes Jury Prize for her debut feature Red Road, Andrea Arnold concretes her status as one of Britain's hottest new... More...
May 26, 2009:
Cannes 2009: RT's 10 Must-See Movies
The 62nd Cannes Film Festival has officially wrapped, with most commentators agreeing that this year's selection was a cut above. There were some disappointments, but plenty of... More...
May 24, 2009:
Cannes 2009: The Tomato Report - Haneke's The White Ribbon Scoops Palme d’Or
Michael Haneke took Cannes' top honour tonight as his film, The White Ribbon, won the prestigious Palme d'Or. It's Haneke's third major Cannes prize but his first Palme d'Or.... More...
May 15, 2009:
Cannes 2009: The Tomato Report – Andrea Arnold Hits with Fish Tank
Returning to the Cannes Film Festival after a massive success there with your last film is a challenge for any filmmaker -- critics are quick to pounce on falls from form here.... More...
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