Red Road
Tartan | Release Date: April 13, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Arnold reminds us that the best thrillers don't settle for taking the audience away from their everyday experience; rather, they burrow inward and, by sheer power of cinematic observation, make it hard for us to look away lest we miss something--on a screen or off. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
It's a wonderful debut, despite all the pain you may feel watching it. Read full review
88
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Academy Award-winning live-action-short director Andrea Arnold makes a startlingly assured debut with this low-key psychological chiller. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It's still dynamite, the kind of sexy, paranoid, creepily atmospheric picture that invades all your senses at once. Read full review
80
Village VoiceElla Taylor
No one does poetic British with more remorseless hyper-realism than the Scots, and Arnold, who amassed a raft of reputable awards for her 2003 short film "Wasp," directs with a precociously sure touch and a raw taste for graphic sexuality rare in a woman helmer. It shocks, yet feels organic to the paranoid, loveless milieu portrayed in Red Road. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
A spellbinding, intelligent thriller that takes its time to get where it's going but is well worth the trip. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Dickie is intense in her screen debut, which requires her to be in nearly every scene. The supporting cast is strong, and Robbie Ryan's handheld camera provides gritty ambiance for this taut thriller. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The movie's intense focus skillfully exposes the raw pain just under the skin of a seemingly ordinary citizen. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Surprisingly moving and intellectually satisfying. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
Though not flawless, this is a compelling study, in Dogme style, of a wounded young woman who spends her working life spying on others. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
It's a taut, unexpected study that asks many questions about retribution and redemption. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Despite the thick Scottish accents, filmmaker Andrea Arnold kept me intrigued, but beyond a certain point the movie's ambiguity fades into indifference. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
You might call the film "Rear Window Times 100." Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
In the arresting Red Road, the dire Orwellian warning that Big Brother is watching has evolved from a grim fantasy of totalitarianism into a banal fact of life. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Its story -- and eerie allure -- comes from our evolving perception of Jackie (Kate Dickie), a surveillance operator in Glasgow, Scotland, who spends long days and nights monitoring the screens. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
As long as Arnold can avoid giving any reason for Dickie's strange behavior, Red Road remains creepy and hypnotic, but as soon as Arnold explains what's going on, the movie's structure collapses into the rubble of cliché. Read full review
60
VarietyLeslie Felperin
Sensual, dark in every sense, but a touch derivative, Red Road reps an impressive feature debut for Brit writer-helmer Andrea Arnold, an Oscar-winner for her knockout short "Wasp." Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The movie trades the paranoia of modern omni-cam culture for a tighter, more personal drama, and while it sticks with you, you feel the missed opportunity like a phantom leg. Read full review
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