Henry Saw: The Red Riding Trilogy

If you don't know...now you know...


The Red Riding trilogy is an English series of films (originally produced for television in Britain) loosely based around two different serial murder cases in Yorkshire (one real and one fictional). They take place in 1974, 1980, and 1983, and follow three different protagonists. Each film, which were made for Channel 4 in England, was made by three different directors but use largely the same cast (outside of the leads). They are currently playing in a 5+ hour block at the IFC theater here in New York. They are also available On Demand on most digital cable providers.



1974 is featured around a reported for the Yorkshire Post named Eddie Dunford (played by relative newcomer Andrew Garfield). It is focused on the disappearance of a series of young girls and Eddie's efforts to discover who is responsible. 1974 is the most outwardly noir of the films. Eddie stands in for the classic detective up against villains and a corrupt police force. He has his dame (played by Vicky Christina Barcelona's Rebecca Hall), his rival investigator (Happy-Go-Lucky's Eddie Marsan), and his shady business man (Sean Bean).

I found Garfield to be an uncompelling lead but the rest of the movie is excellent. The central concept of a killer who sows swan wings onto his young victims is incredibly creepy. The world of the film, based around Yorkshire in the 1970's, is well constructed and the whole film just feels right. 1974 has a very satisfying conclusion and is probably the best stand-alone film of the bunch.

1974 was directed by Julian Jarrold, who previously did Brideshead Revisited and Becoming Jane, and he directs the movie in a fairly straight, but effective, manner. 1974 is a strong film, it's not amazing, but it's a very tight and complete work. There are a lot of scenes that felt like filler (lots of unneeded sex scenes), and the subsequent films did not make them feel any more necessary, but they did not detract too much from the movie.

I recommend 1974...if you were out to just watch one of the Red Riding films...this would be the one.

Best Scene: Sean Bean's first meeting with Andrew Garfield.

Grade: B+




1980: Actually my favorite of the trilogy. This one more closely follows the investigation of the famous (and real) Yorkshire Ripper case. Paddy Constantine (Dead Man's Shoes and The Bourne Ultimatum) plays a detective brought in to clean up the Yorkshire police force and to solve the case. A lot of the supporting cast from 1974 pop-up, some in surprisingly big roles, but Constantine is the focus of the film.

I thought this whole film worked marvelously. The steps of a police operation circa 1980 are depicted splendidly, the slimy and corrupt police officers are much more fully painted than in 1974, and the movie is splendidly directed.

The director is James Marsh, who did helmed the brilliant Man on Wire in 2008, and he brings a subtle and deft touch to the film. It's just a well constructed police film. While the last third is a bit of a let down, I didn't like where the plot or acting went, I still think this is the strongest of the 3 Red Riding films. It has the best lead performance (Constantine is fantastic), the best integration of time, place, and plot, and the best scene of any of the three films.

Highly recomended. This is a great movie.

Grade: A-

Best Scene: The Confession...



1983: This was very disappointing. After the fairly brilliant first two entries of the trilogy...this is horrible in comparison. The film follows three different main characters including a new character named John Piggott (played by Mark Addy from A Knight's Tale) who plays a lawyer who inserts himself into the investigation. The other two featured characters are actually supporting characters in the first two films. We have Maurice Jabson (played very well by State of Play's David Morrissey) who is a cop conflicted about his department's methods. There is also BJ, played by Robert Sheehan, a gay hustler who finds himself in the middle of multiple cases.

1983 is a mess. We have a "medium" giving our heroes answers, a jumping time-line that only confuses, and a predictable and unsatisfying conclusion. 1983, directed by Anand Tucker (who I can blame for Hilary and Jackie as well...), is a fiasco of a film. I could barely stay interested in the movie, and this was after investing 4 hours into the storyline, and it's really a shame that a strong trilogy has to end on this kind of note.

Best Scene: David Morriseey's meeting with Daniel Mays, who plays the man arrested for the crimes in the first film, who produces a shockingly tender scene.


Grade: D+


So what did I think of the Red Riding Trilogy? I think it's a very interesting project. I'd love to see more things like this from HBO....but I don't think Red Riding totally worked. The films are so different, and so let down by the third film, that I can't help but feel dissapointed. Theoretically, the films all tie-in together quite well...the first film sets up a mystery that is only fully answered in the third film...but "1983" is such a failure that it actively hurts the series.

There's a lot to like here. Great scripting, fantastic acting, and superb editing. Still, I can't fully recommend the Red Riding Experience due to the running time and the lame third film. This is a very worthy trilogy but don't believe the hype.

You've seen better.

Overall grade: B