Red Riding Trilogy
Raw, gritty, and unnerving, this arty three-part film event pays off for those who venture into the seedy Yorkshire county where the dramas are set. The first episode, 1974, may be the best. A young, green journalist, Eddie Dunford (Andrew Garfield) investigates the series of crimes in which young girls are raped and murdered. Audiences will choke on the hazy atmosphere of newspaper offices and bars where smoke fills the rooms. Eddie digs and digs, angering the police, his editor, and even Paula (Rebecca Hall), the mother of one of the murdered girls. He unwisely begins an inappropriate sexual relationship with Paula, and his hubris—that he might save her and solve the crime—could be his downfall. The episode, which features outstanding acting and brutal violence throughout, sets the tone of the series. The themes introduced in this Red Riding—about power, corruption, and the lengths people will go to hide their crimes or uncover the truth—resonate throughout the series.
The second episode, 1980, is the weakest, but this may be because it deviates from the crimes introduced in part one. Here, a criminal known as the Yorkshire Ripper—who is still at large—has murdered 13 women. Peter Hunter (Paddy Considine) is hired to head up a covert operation to solve the crimes. His plan is to start from scratch but his investigation gets murky when his affair with colleague Helen Marshall (Maxine Peake) is discovered. While the Peter-Helen relationship is never quite palpable, this subdued episode suffers mainly because it serves as little more than a bridge between the first and last parts, but it works as a stand-alone film.
The last entry, 1983, ties up much of what transpired in the first film. If the flashbacks to 1974 seems confusing at first, the way the storylines are resolved make sense. The dialogue in 1983 often refers back to quotes from 1974, so it’s valuable to see these parts back to back to piece together the clues and characters. Here, John Pigott (Mark Addy) is the innocent man forced into crime-solving as he is asked to defend the possibly innocent man convicted of the child-killings. Meanwhile, a character from the previous films returns to Yorkshire to exact revenge on his tormentor. Again, the violence in this episode is disturbing, but it serves a purpose: it reinforces the way the corrupt and powerful will do what they want, regardless of the consequences. It’s not a happy message, but it’s presented very effectively. If the trilogy is not for the squeamish, it is worthwhile for those who dare.
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AroundPhilly Staff
