Wednesday, 7 July 2010

Review of ‘Red Riding’ trilogy


The ‘Red Riding’ trilogy, aka ‘Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974’, ‘~ 1980’, and ‘~ 1983’ (2009) is a UK television drama/thriller adaptation of David Pearce’s ‘Red Riding Quartet’ set in Yorkshire during the 70s and 80s, that was released on Channel 4 in March 2009, and was also given a cinematic release in the US in February 2010. The trilogy looks at the corruption within the police force, against the backdrop of the legacy of the Ripper murders.
Although the films’ screenplay’s were written by Tony Grisoni (‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’(1998)), each ‘installment’ was given a different director and even filmed using different cameras. ‘1974’ was filmed on 16mm and directed by Julian Jarrold, ‘1980’ was filmed on 35mm and directed by James Marsh, and finally ‘1983’ was filmed with the Red One Camera and directed by Anand Tucker.
What’s at first intriguing is that the approach to this novel adaptation is essentially to produce three separate films that, whilst linked by running narrative, are almost re-interpretations of the same source material. The different film stock and indeed inclusion of a digital camera, as well as different visionaries, provides a great opportunity for a fresh take of each installment of the story. This certainly seems to work, as each film has a slightly different feel, which to some extent makes ‘1974’ and ‘1980’ feel quite plausible as separate standalone films. The production values also seem well managed considering this is primarily a television production, as the entire trilogy boasts a strong cast as well as commendable cinematography and mis-en-scene.
Starting with ‘1974’, we follow a young rookie journalist who trying to uncover the truth about a series of child abductions, which pit him against a corrupt police force. When he starts to unearth the truth, he finds himself caught up in a cover-up plot. His ultimate demise makes a haunting ending for the first installment in the trilogy, since it breaks the expectation for the uneducated watcher, that he’ll be the hero who’s journey will span the trilogy. For ‘1980’ we have a more dependable and mature protagonist who also meets a grizzly end despite his moral purpose to find justice. This then sets up a heightened tension for a comparatively unlikely hero’s journey in ‘1983’. As a narrative device, this subverts with the usual morality tale storyline where the hero uncovers the truth and is rewarded in some measure. It might seem morbid or depressing as a message, however as neo-noir genre piece, it adds an element of increased uncertainty and tension to the overall trilogy as well as over the time-span of each individual film. In part, because even though we don’t explore the journey’s of the Ripper’s victims, all characters feel relevant to the plot as opposed to background plot devices.
This is an interesting creative choice by the writers, as it forces the viewer not to take any character fore granted, even if some genre conventions are adhered to.
It is noticeable that ‘1983’ feels less cohesive than the previous two installments from a narrative perspective, relying on an unnecessary amount of voice-over and flashback in comparison to the previous two installments that feel more polished. Despite this overall, the adaptations feel satisfying as artistic film’s in their own write, rather than being ‘owned’ by the original source material of the novels.
Posted by optimuszee

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