Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983 (2009) Reviews

• Red Riding: 1983

  lost-in-limbo2010-03-19

  Here we have the final chapter of the this turbulently dark and maturely free-flowing three part mini-series, picking up three years after the second chapter, the story for 1983 might be a little convoluted (with the plot digging further into past events --- where some passages are set-up flashbacks leading us to even more surprises) it still was a fulfilling, harrowing and exciting way to close it off. It might not reach the heights of the first two chapters, as it came down a notch but for me it didn't disappoint and remained just as acceptably engaging as the previous entries. 1983 sets the story that another young girl has vanished from the same area, where nine years earlier (set-up in the first chapter; 1974) a young girl's mutilated dead body was found with angel wings. Detective Maurice Jobson was originally on the case with an autistic man Michael Mishkin being accused of the murder/s, but now of this new development the family of the accused seeks the help from dreary lawyer John Piggott to get an appeal. At first hesitant, but Piggott learns some astonishing facts from Michael about police brutality and corruption at the core. There he goes on trying to take on the Yorkshire police on his own. While Detective Jobson seems to be having a change of heart and starts digging in to the case wanting to do the correct thing, which some of his fellow officers begin questioning. 1983 pretty much follows on from 1974, as while 1980 seemed there more so there to connect/hold together some issues that worked its way in. The sprawling plot brings together all the pieces (child abuse, serial murders and police corruption) to put them as one; as every little detail, lead and revelation about this deeply crafted and intelligent crime story comes to a conclusion. Recurring characters seem to find themselves being wrapped up too and it actually centres more on the endlessly brutal actions of the police behind closed doors. The story was never about the bigger picture of police corruption and violence, but just a small note of it with how this case (and also Yorkshire ripper) was manipulated for self-gain and power… the series focused on that aspect. Here the narrative for the last chapter is about someone trying to make a difference, no matter how much they're out of their league or badly tainted. This can be seen from the viewpoint of two central characters ; lawyer John Piggott and Detective Maurice Jobson. Both have regrets and troubled minds, but see this crusade to not turn a blind eye and at least add a touch of hope amongst such bleak, unflinching and fearful circumstances. David Morrisey had lesser roles in the early films, but this one its all about his character's transformation in what is a superbly reflective performance as Jobson. Mark Addy is also outstanding as lawyer Piggott. Then there's a third character; BJ (Robert Sheehan) who ties all the incidents together from all three chapters. The support is up to game with brilliant show-ins by Warren Clarke, Jim Carter, Daniel Mays and Peter Mullan. Director Anand Tucker just like the other additions captures the times through place and time, embarking with a visually crisp look but never forgetting the glassy and hardened edge that made this series an uneasy and challenging viewing. What always left a mark with me throughout the series, were the music scores and this chapter was no exception. Gloomy, but soulful and emotionally tailored. An unforgettable and stimulating TV crime drama.

• The Sun Never Shines In Yorkshire.

  samkan2011-03-14

  Almost literally. In truth there are a few moments featuring outdoor scenes where the sun MIGHT be out amongst clouds, though camera and lighting do their best to avoid such potential charm. And therein are presented the underlying themes of evil, greed, debauchery, misery, hopelessness and...... did I mention....evil. The Red Riding Trilogy is a five hour adventure into a dark world of vile corruption, pedophilia, brutality, fear and futility. It is certainly not without merit. It features police corruption and brutality as well or better than anything I've viewed. (Example: When a mentally deficient character wets his pants upon sight of the cops we understand entirely his reaction.) The lead characters, arguably there are four, are so flawed that they function less as protagonists than as faint glimmers of humanity. Yet they are genuine to a fault. The bleak hopelessness of the British working class is well supported by the lighting, tinting (its neither color nor B&W) and drab settings. There is certainly a story in here somewhere, not so much moved by the characters as by the ugliness of human nature and it's ability to overwhelm the good. Rather than say the RRT would be better pressed into a single feature length film, the true merits of RRT would be better presented as a multi-part, episodic production more slowly introducing and intermingling the various characters. RRT is certainly more about characters and their natures, reactions and failings than anything else! As I mentioned before, only arguably have we four main characters. The story, quite artfully, ebbs and flows re the importance of and emphasis on certain people. A seemingly minor character is a plot devise at one point, only to be more fully drawn much later. An eight or ten part RRT, at an hour a shot, would/could provide something as engaging as ; e.g., a BBC Dicken's production. Imagine a modern day Bleak House adding drugs, sex, gruesome violence and overwhelming fear. The major problem with RRT is that what we ultimately learn to be the great evil has by then become so obscured by characters and emotions that it almost gives new definition to anticlimax. There may -or quite possibly may not - have been sufficient clues, dialog, etc. attending to the "story" to have made its outcome satisfying. Assuming there were enough such tips (this is arguable!) by the end of RRT the viewer is far too exhausted to piece the story together. In a nutshell, the backbone story/plot takes such a distant backseat to the grittiness, characters and tragedies that it will be long forgotten before RRT's fears and tears are still remembered.

• Criminal Thriller is not a word I will use for this, more like: Disturbing.

  nodisalsi2009-03-20

  The Red Riding trilogy is not something one would normally watch for comedy style entertainment. The underworld criminal corruption and fascist bastard Yorkshire police encountered so far in the first two parts are just touching the surface of this crime drama; beneath this is sick, violent and twisted evil. And the final episode lays it bare. I have to say the performance by the cast is extraordinary. Sure, you can say that actors like Sean Bean and Paddy Considine do possess a degree of cool and that they easily endow upon their character roles. However, in the final part, something happens which really surprised me and gave me the creeps. The setting for this trilogy: 1970-1980's Britain, has touched a nostalgic nerve in me - a 40 year old Brit. However, my memories of Gypsies, vandalised cars on the street and the grassy wilderness that carries on from the back garden are all fond memories of my childhood. Red Riding brought me back into these days and these places, and introduced a host of beastly horrors and brutal realities of which - until now - I was blithely unaware. Finally, I guess that in conclusion, I was specially targeted by this. But it may just be well-written, expertly researched, quintessentially British, supported by a great cast and neatly photographed. And the impact that was intended for the end - certainly worked on me.

• A bit convoluted, but a decent enough wrap for this series

  davideo-22009-06-06

  STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning It's 1983, and another young girl has gone missing from the same school and the same area as a girl who was found dead with angel wings nearly ten years earlier. This throws the past and the present together in spectacular fashion, as the family of Michael Mishkin (Daniel Mays), the impaired man accused of the murder all those years ago, ask troubled lawyer John Piggott (Mark Addy) to take his case and help him mount an appeal. The trouble is, Mays confessed and this is hard to appeal against. Instead, Piggott puts pressure on the local police to look into claims of police brutality and corruption in getting Mays's confession. But remorseful Detective Jobson (David Morrison) remembers his partner's unorthodox approach from years ago and tries to put things right, leading to a devastating conclusion that will shatter everything. Red Riding has been a thinly rewarding show to get involved in. Maybe it's something you need to watch a few times to really pick everything up, but while it's pleased with itself as an intelligent and original drama, it comes off just as much as a confusing and muddled story that might have tried to be a little too clever for it's own good. This final part supposedly wraps everything up, but hardly in a neat and tidy fashion. The concluding part of the whole shebang comes together like a nice looking car where all the components fall apart once you switch on the engine. While the most important parts seem to have been wrapped up smoothly, there still feels like a lot of subplots that haven't been taken care of or that maybe there was too much to take in anyway and by the end it's all blown your mind a bit. Atmospherically, the show's excelled but while the story keeps you glued to the end, it all ends up feeling like a bit too much style over substance and that's stopped it from being a brilliant series and instead an average one. ***

• A kick in the chest after three equally great films

  dbborroughs2010-06-05

  Final part of the Red Riding Trilogy (based on the Red Riding Quartet) concerns the events that transpire several years past the previous film. The Ripper is in prison, as is the killer of young girls. The trouble is that another young girl goes missing and its echoing the nastiness that the police are desperate to keep buried. I'm feeling like I was punched in the gut. This is a descent into pure evil and there seems to be little hope of escape. To be honest I'm not sure what I just saw but I need a bath. Time tripping film requires one pays a great deal of attention since the story meanders back and forth through time in such away that its not always clear when we are. Its a film that closely mirrors memory as we shift through several characters time lines. The un-rooted effect keeps you off balance which when coupled with the films continuous revelations creates an effect similar to being hit by a truck. I know some people don't like this film much because it seems so disjointed but I think if you can go with it you will be richly rewarded. (this is not a film to watch on fast forward, something I think at least one reviewer did) Supposedly the three Red Riding films can be seen separately and still have them work, and I think that's the case with the first two films in the sequence. Personally I think the first film works completely on its own, and while numerous plot points are left hanging, there is nothing to say that the story must go on. Similarly the second film works when viewed alone. yes there are references to the earlier film, but until the final minutes I think it works on its own terms. That is not the case here. Here the film bounces through time and refers so much to what has gone before that the anyone who watched this with out seeing the previous films would have none of the back story or the references to earlier events. I know I would have wondered why some things were not explained. I know the unease is such that even the ending which has some great images some how has a different sort of impact than one thinks... it is some how fitting for a film (and a series) that has confounded my expectations. What do I think of the three films? I think the films have a great deal of power. I think they are quite good. I also think that I need to see them again, partly to see what I missed previously and to have it all knitted together. But at the same time I need to see what the films were getting at. I'm still not sure what all of this is about short of a look at festering corruption. If you want challenging film-making see the films.