Reviewed by RaeAnne Marsh Studio: Tartan USA
Director: Andrea Arnold
Starring: Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, Nathalie Press, Andrew Armour
Production Budget: $2.2 million Water Cooler Buzz: British filmmaker Andrea Arnold weaves a mesmerizing chain of events that transpires without explanation, vexing to a generation used to having everything neatly explained. Kate Dickie's debut performance as a woman obviously tormented by terrible, if mysterious, tragedy marks her as one to watch - and, indeed, she and her character will be seen again. Red Road was developed as part of the Sundance Institute's Advance Party filmmaker program, which requires the same nine actors to play the same characters in each of three films. Description: Big Brother is watching, but in this case it's Big Sister. Jackie works for a video surveillance company. Her responsibility, as she watches over her minute section of the world on closed circuit TV, is to protect the people whose existence she monitors. When she sees a man she recognizes, her attention warps into narrower focus. There's obviously a history; her face expresses it. Although no dialogue explains the circumstances they seem to have shared, Kate Dickie as Jackie conveys the shock she feels at his freedom from prison. Her intentions as unclear as her motives, she insinuates herself into the periphery of his life as she stalks him. Graphic sex adds to the emotional impact of the film. |
