Review of Red Road (2006) by Matt W — 15 Jun 2007

I agree that the best thing about this film is aesthetics. It shines in its moments of tracking shots through a filthy Glasgow, a landscape that's as broken as the main character's heart. Close-ups, handheld, and creative editing, form is a hyper dogmatic realism that permiates through the film.

There are moments of true discomfort and harrowing suspense due to this type of Von Trieresque filmmaking. The film makes great use of tight framing, tracking the main character through her daily life.

Because the film puts so much emphasis on third person point of view, I became highly involved with the protagonist's life. Her situation is tragic and I sympathized with her every step of the way.

The problem with this film is that all of the suspense and build up doesn't lead up to much of conclusion. The film takes advantage of the fact that the motivations of the main character are not revealed until the end.

We are held on a string the entire film completely in the dark, and the guessing game becomes a little tiresome. The film is still great, but no masterpiece.