AFI FEST Los Angeles International Film Festival 2009

This harrowing, serpentine, five-hour tale of crime, revenge and ultimate redemption was adapted by Tony Grisoni (FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS) from British writer David Pease’s acclaimed series of crime novels about the true-life sexual murders committed by the Yorkshire Ripper in the 1970s and ’80s. In the first film, directed by Julian Jarrold (BRIDESHEAD REVISITED), Andrew Garfield plays a young journalist who finds himself emotionally enmeshed in a murder story while running afoul of a local power broker, played by Sean Bean. The second segment, directed by Oscar-winning James Marsh (MAN ON WIRE), stars Paddy Considine as the straight-arrow outsider investigating police misconduct. The third episode, directed by Anand Tucker (AND WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER?), follows Mark Addy’s broken-down attorney as he stumbles upon a troubling truth. The sum total: RED RIDING takes the serial noir form to unforgettable, potent new heights.

–Rose Kuo