Opening 17 Jul 2008
Directed by:
Andrea Arnold
Writing credits:
Andrea Arnold, Anders Thomas Jensen, Lone Scherfig
Principal actors:
Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, Nathalie Press, Paul Higgins
Jackie (Kate Dickie) works for City Eye Control where she monitors numerous TV screens around the district of Red Road in Glasgow. At the first sign of crime or danger she notifies the police, who investigate. One evening she recognizes Clyde Andersen (Tony Curran), who has just served a prison term for manslaughter. The victims were Jackie’s husband and small daughter. She inserts herself into his life in an effort to send him back to prison. Why he doesn’t recognize her is a mystery. Gradually, she gains entrance to his apartment, meets his friends and becomes intimate in an extremely explicit scene of female fellatio (which will certainly be cut in many countries). Will she throw him out the apartment window to his death below? It takes patience to watch this first film by British Andrea Arnold; many minutes pass with Jackie gazing into TV screens in the dark. Your patience will be well rewarded in the end through excellent acting and a moral lesson about humanity, revenge, letting go and closure. This won the jury prize for best film at the 2006 Cannes film festival, as well as eighteen more prizes around the world. (Becky Tan)
