Red Riding: 1974

Solid, but unremarkable. The claustrophobic close-up camera work helps foster a sense of paranoia and conspiracy, but ultimately the plot ends up being contrived and predictable. The characters are one-dimensional and lack any kind of internal conflict, and many of them act irrationally for no apparent reason. It also became fairly far-fetched towards the end.

Acting is solid in what isn't the most exhilarating watch. Still not convinced to watch the next two installments.

I love a good serial killer movie. This isn't one. It starts off promising but devolves into a predictable story of exposing government corruption. Headstrong young journalist is warned off the story, gets handed mysterious envelopes, up against forces he doesn't understand, beaten up by police, blah blah blah. Almost every scene felt familiar. This really could have used some more compelling forensic work and investigative intuition. Terrible sound mixing as well, and uninspiring performances.

At first I was bothered by Garfield because his age - he looks a bit too immature for his character (awesome sideburns though), but he pulls it through. Story is inriguing and dark. I love how the film gets heavier and heavier and towards the end enters the nightmare mode. I kind of expected to see 'David Lynch was here' written somewhere on the wall. Open ends are killing me. But hey, it's just a first part of a trilogy, and it's a great set-up. I rush to watch part 2. Little did I know...

Pretty decent movie, but nothing groundbreaking. Performances were good, I liked the style, but the story was just kinda bland. I would've killed for some subtitles (I was watching it on television) as there were more than a few instances where I was having a hard time following the dialogue through the thick accents. Worth a viewing, but it might leave you wanting.

I was waiting for something awesome to take me off my feet in this thriller, but was disappointed.

Interesting plot, fairly annoying photography. Hand-held, close-up photography can be done well, but here it lacks the quality of mystery in the characters that makes good close-ups really work. Instead, the close-up camera always seems to be underlining the action and story, which talks down to the audience rather than engages. The performances are good (Marsan is great whatever he's in). And the plot does just enough to keep things interesting throughout.

I think this would be too dull for fans of Hollywood thrillers. I thought it took a while to get going, and, ultimately, the plot is not great from an entertainment stand-point. The film is better at capturing a particular time in the UK and the frustrations with corruption; parts of the film feel like *Taxi Driver*.

Great acting, the full effect of which is elicited by Jarrold's "let's keep the 16mm camera ultra close"-style. Best of the three.

Em busca de um assassino estreava há 15 anos no Reino Unido. Desde que foi lançada tive interesse de ver essa série de filmes, mas só agora surgiu o momento pra ver e fiquei um tanto quanto decepcionada. Claro, my man Garfield está gatíssimo no seu visual anos 70, mas como tinham feito Zodíaco dois anos antes, esperava um filme sobre serial killer jornalisticamente investigado naquele nível. YTS.