''The Riddle'' is a 2007 British

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

crime thriller film directed and written by

Brendan Foley Brendan Foley may refer to: * Brendan Foley (filmmaker) * Brendan Foley (rugby union) Brendan Oliver Foley (born 6 August 1950) is an Irish former rugby union player, who played in the amateur era of the sport. He played primarily as a Lock (rug ...

. It stars Vinnie Jones, Derek Jacobi, Julie Cox, Vanessa Redgrave, and Jason Flemyng.

Plot

When a woman is murdered following her discovery of an unpublished Charles Dickens manuscript, an unusual trio team up to investigate. The three are Mike (Jones), an ambitious sports

tabloid journalist Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalist journalism (usually dramatized and sometimes unverifiable or even blatantly false), which takes its name from the tabloid newspaper format: a small-sized newspaper also known ...

determined to make a name for himself, Kate (Cox), a police officer, and an eccentric old beach-combing tramp (Jacobi). Together they must track down the mystery and we are taken back to the world of Charles Dickens. Only when they solve the riddle of the manuscript are they able to solve the present day crime, but they must also face opposers: a greedy detective (Moriarty), a publisher (Redgrave), and a ruthless construction company owner (Flemyng).

Principal cast

* Vinnie Jones as Mike Sullivan * Derek Jacobi as The Tramp / (19th century) Charles Dickens * Julie Cox as Kate Merril * Vanessa Redgrave as Roberta Elliot * Jason Flemyng as Don Roberts *

P. H. Moriarty Patrick H. Moriarty (born 27 February 1939) is a British character actor and voice actor, known for his role as 'Razors' in John Mackenzie's ''The Long Good Friday''. Career Moriarty came to acting late in life; he had worked as a boxer and a ...

as D.I. Willis / (19th century) Constable Frederick * Mel Smith as Professor Cranshaw *

Vera Day Vera Day (born 4 August 1935) is an English film and television actress. She was born in London just before the war and grew up in Forest Gate, East London. Early career Leaving school at 15, she had various jobs before finding employment in ...

as Sadie Miller * Kenny Lynch as Shotgun Ronnie White * Gareth Hunt as Roy McBride

Filming

The film was shot in London's Greenwich, Lewisham,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, and

Chislehurst Caves Chislehurst Caves are a series of intersecting man-made tunnels and caverns covering some 22 miles (35.4 km) in Chislehurst in southeast London, England. From the mid-13th to early 19th centuries the 'caves' were created from the mining of ...

in Bromley district. The opening sequence was shot at the Central Park Stadium in

Murston Murston is a suburb of Sittingbourne in Kent, England. It is about 1 mile north-east of central Sittingbourne, on the east bank of the Milton Creek. History According to Edward Hasted in 1798, it was once called 'Muston'. The parish contains about ...

Promotion

''The Riddle'' was released direct-to-video as a world exclusive premiere promotion on 16 September 2007, and came free inside '' The Mail on Sunday'', which bought the UK DVD rights. The promotional DVD contains a trailer for '' Bog Bodies'', a horror film also directed by Brendan Foley.

References

External links

* * * 2007 crime thriller films 2007 independent films 2000s mystery thriller films 2007 psychological thriller films 2007 direct-to-video films 2007 films British crime thriller films British detective films British independent films British mystery thriller films British psychological thriller films Films about murder Films based on works by Charles Dickens Films set in London Films shot in Kent Films shot in London Works about Charles Dickens 2007 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films {{psychological-thriller-film-stub