Red Riding: 1980 (2009)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

James Marsh

Writers:

Tony Grisoni (screenplay)
David Peace (novel)

Release Date:

2009 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Police corruption interferes with the search for a killer in Yorkshire, England. Based on David Peace's novel "Nineteen Eighty". |

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

Warren Clarke	...	Bill Molloy
Paddy Considine	...	Peter Hunter
James Fox	...	Philip Evans
David Calder	...	Sir John Marsden
Nicholas Woodeson	...	Michael Warren
Ron Cook	...	Clement Smith
Maxine Peake	...	Helen Marshall
Tony Pitts	...	John Nolan
Jim Carter	...	Harold Angus
David Morrissey	...	Maurice Jobson
Eddie Marsan	...	Jack Whitehead
Sean Harris	...	Bob Craven
Tony Mooney	...	Tommy Douglas
Shaun Dooley	...	Dick Alderman
Ken Oxtoby	...	Hotel Receptionist

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15

Company:

Channel Four Film

Trivia:

Maxine Peake was only cast because two previous choices dropped out.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Hunter goes to visit Laws the door and windows are clearly made of UPVC which was not available in 1980.

Quotes:

Peter Hunter: You don't like the police much, do you?
Martin Laws: No love lost, no.
Peter Hunter: So when someone kicks down your front door, kills the dog and rapes the wife, who you gonna call?
Martin Laws: Well it certainly wouldn't be the West Yorkshire Police - they'd already *be* in there, wouldn't they!

Movie Connections:

Follows Red Riding: 1974 (2009)

The wolves will be a chase.

Please see my review for the first part of this amazing trilogy to establish just how jaw-droppingly good I think the whole thing was.

This time around, we join Peter Hunter (played by the consistently brilliant Paddy Considine) as he is asked to head a covert investigation into the Yorkshire Police Force and their methods of investigating the Yorkshire Ripper case. The people are scared and looking for others to blame while the police, again busy with their own interests and corruption, are coming up empty-handed. This is almost a stand-alone effort, having less connection with the first part than the finale will have, but it keeps some story strands running and the big picture is really only seen by those who watch the whole thing. Which I implore everyone to do.

We have high production values once again and another cast to die for. Considine is so good that it's almost impossible to believe he would come on board for what is, essentially, a TV production but fair play to the guy for spotting dynamite material when he sees it. Many others have already appeared in the "1974" instalment and the new faces (such as Maxine Peake, Lesley Sharp and Joseph Mawle) all step right up to the mark and join the others in performing out of their damn skins.

It's more discomfort for the viewer due to the material and graphic detail (described more than actually shown) and also ties in with the real, notorious hunt for "The Yorkshire Ripper" in a way that perfectly, and unnervingly, blends fact with fiction. Not quite as impactful as the first episode/movie, this nevertheless delivers quality on every single level and keeps the 10/10 standard that the previous production started off with.

See this if you like: Zodiac, L.A. Confidential, Red Riding "1974".