''Red Road'' is a 2006

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the 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. In terms of context and co ...

film directed by

Andrea Arnold Andrea Arnold, OBE (born 5 April 1961) is an English filmmaker and former actor. She won an Academy Award for her short film ''Wasp'' in 2005. Her feature films include ''Red Road'' (2006), ''Fish Tank'' (2009), and ''American Honey'' (2016), ...

and starring

Kate Dickie Kate Dickie (born 1971) is a Scottish actress who has appeared in television series, stage plays and films. She is known for her television roles as Lex in the BBC series '' Tinsel Town'' (2000–2001) and Lysa Arryn in the HBO series '' Game ...

Tony Curran Tony Curran is a Scottish actor who has appeared in '' Underworld: Evolution'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Roots'', and the Netflix historical epic ''Outlaw King''. He appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) as Bor ...

Martin Compston Martin Compston (born 8 May 1984) is a Scottish actor and former Association Football, professional footballer. He played Anti-Corruption Unit Detective Inspector Steve Arnott in the BBC drama ''Line of Duty'', Liam in Ken Loach, Ken Loach's '' ...

, and

Natalie Press Natalie Press (born 15 August 1980) is an English actress. She is known for her performance in the 2004 film ''My Summer of Love'' and a number of short and feature-length Independent film, independent films, including ''Wasp (2003 film), Wasp' ...

. It tells the story of a

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

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

Red Road Flats The Red Road Flats were a mid-twentieth-century high-rise housing complex located between the districts of Balornock and Barmulloch in the northeast of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The estate originally consisted of eight multi-storey blocks ...

Balornock Balornock (, gd, Both Lobharnaig) 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-store ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, 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 is a 1995 avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" ( da, kyskhedsløfter). These were rules to create films ba ...

style, using handheld cameras and natural light. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' 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

. 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 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 fellow ex-con 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 he has lost contact. Clyde and Jackie have passionate sex, but she runs from the bedroom and stages rape, 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 killed her husband and daughter. 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, and she 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

as Jackie Morrison *

as Clyde Henderson *

as Stevie *

as April * Paul Higgins as Avery

Production

The cunnilingus scene between

and

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 to not reveal the machinations of the mimicry.

Reception

Critical response

On review-aggregating website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American 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, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has a score of 88% based on 88 reviews, for an average rating of 7.3/10, 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 a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, 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 A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England durin ...

* 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 The 9th British Independent Film Awards, held in November 2006 at the Hammersmith Palais, London, honoured the best British independent films of 2006. Awards Best British Independent Film * ''This Is England'' * ''The Last King of Scotland'' * '' ...

– Best Actress (Dickie) * British Independent Film Awards 2006 – Best Actor (Curran) *

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

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

References

External links

* *
British Films Catalogue

Cannes director urges CCTV debate

Interview with Andrea Arnold and Kate Dickie, Filmmaker Magazine Web Exclusives
{{Sutherland Trophy 2006 films 2006 independent films 2006 psychological thriller films BBC Film films British independent films British psychological thriller films Danish independent films Danish thriller films 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 2006 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films