Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974
Director: Julian Jarrold
Year Released: 2009
Rating: 2.0
An investigative journalist (Andrew Garfield, possessing, like me, an elegant crane neck) - who is really more of a gonzo journalist - gets entirely too involved in a murder case (a little girl raped and mutilated) that may be linked to a scummy land developer (Sean Bean). Part one of the Red Riding trilogy is well-acted (Rebecca Hall is marvelous as the widow who ends up in bed with Garfield) but undistinguished in either appearance (gritty 70's crime movie simulation) or plot, as loosely tied to real-life scenarios as it apparently is. Modern American television is flooded with crime stories - literally ... flooded - and though there's some R-rated elements, much of this flat-lines.
