Red Riding: 1983

Starring: David Morrissey, Lisa Howard, Chris Walker, Shaun Dooley, Jim Carter, Sean Bean, Sean Harris, Steven Robertson, Mark Addy
Directed by: Anand Tucker
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama, Crime, Mystery
2009

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The secret of the Yorkshire murders finally boils to the surface, years later.

Review:

Tim: I enjoyed Red Riding 1973 and 1980, so I was interested to see how the trilogy would end. Unfortunately, I felt like the movie ended on a weak note. This is clearly the worst film of the trilogy. The first two movies asked a lot of the audience- the story was complex and convoluted, and subsequent films made quick, subtle references to events in previous movies. It all got to be a bit overwhelming. I really enjoyed the first movie, liked the second movie, but by this one, I admit this trilogy just wore me out. I couldn't remember exactly who was who and who did what, and I have to admit, by this point, I wasn't invested enough in any of the characters to do the extra work to find out.

I admit I was confused for a portion of the film, and I'm sure there were a lot of connections that I missed. Part of that is on me as the viewer, being lazy. Part of that is on these films, and not giving me a compelling enough reason to care. I'd been emotionally invested in characters in both films, but they're all dead at this point. Our new protagonist is good, but the weakest of the three main characters.

It was interesting how this film went back and forth between the stories brought to life by David Morrissey and Mark Addy. Morriseey is reprising his role from the previous two films, but he is definitely the less interesting of the two. I thought his story of redemption was fine, but it wasn't very exciting or powerful. The movie also threw some very confusing scenes jumping through time (I believe some were set in the past). It didn't bring me into the film any. I like Mark Addy as an actor. His character was fine, but certainly not as good as the characters played by Andrew Garfield or Paddy Considine. I was mildly interested in his story.

This movie did wrap up the story and serve as a fitting conclusion. However, it just felt like more of the same. The viewing experience was similar to the first two films, but less effective. I felt like director Anand Tucker did a worse job than Julian Jarrold with 1974 or James Marsh with 1980. I don't believe he's a very good director at this point.

While not terrible, I'm a bit disappointed I didn't like Red Riding: 1983 more. The movie never gave me a compelling reason to care or stay invested in the complexity of the story. The characters I like were both gone, and the new ones didn't live up that standard. This isn't a bad movie, but I felt like it was clearly the weakest of the trilogy. I hate when a series ends on a down note, like this one did.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Red Riding: 1974, Red Riding: 1980