Red Road
(2006)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: C+
Andrea Arnold’s Red
Road (2006) is a decent British drama about a woman named Jackie (Kate
Dickie) who works in a closed circuit operation monitoring the city for
security purposes. However, like many
who think they can just watch coldly before her, a man from her past returns
that she thought she was through with and was gone permanently. Now, her future will be affected when she
just wanted to be left alone.
Made in Scotland, the part thriller, part drama has its
moments and is as much a character study as anything. Since she just has TV monitors in front of
her, she is not as (or needs to be as) involved as Gene Hackman’s character in The Conversation (1974) though this too
is a character study of sorts. A
critical and commercial hit, I found it good, but not as spectacular as some
have, but Arnold’s script takes its time to develop its story and does so
intelligently, which is half the battle won.
At a solid, consistent 110 minutes, it is worth a look.
The
1.85 X 1 image is weak at times, despite being a new release, with
Director of Photography Robbie Ryan’s cinematography pretty good. It would be nice to see this in HD or
35mm. The DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1
mixes are nothing to write home about, with compression throughout and the
multiple tracks show the limits of the original recording. It is still clean and clear enough to enjoy,
but nothing spectacular and a little disappointing. Extras include stills, the original trailer
and a remarkable short film by Arnold called WASP that shows an emerging
talent.
- Nicholas Sheffo
