Red Riding: 1974

Released Feb 5, 2010

1 hr. 42 min.

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

List

100%

14 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

When a young girl goes missing, Yorkshire Post crime reporter Eddie Dunford (Andrew Garfield) becomes intrigued by a series of mysterious child murders that date back several years and mirror to the current case. He faces stiff opposition from the local police and his editor, Bill (John Henshaw). Eddie's troubles escalate when he becomes involved with a moody widow (Rebecca Hall) who has a mysterious connection to wealthy developer John Dawson (Sean Bean).

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John C

If you really want to get the feel (I can only imagine it's somewhat accurate, being an American) of the place, read the book: every surface feels covered in cigarette smoke and slopped whiskey, along with the grime and despair of that time in North England. I didn't quite feel the same atmosphere in the film, and because it has to set the scene and the dynamics between a bewildering array of personalities (many of whom are cut out of the film altogether), it ends up not delivering as strongly. Andrew Garfield is an OK actor but couldn't pull off the same desperation and darkness that Peace brought to the character in the book. The film does a bit better to clear up some of the confusing plot lines, but ultimately falls a little flat. Even if you're not much of a reader, I recommend the book as it moves fast and straightforward like a screenplay but with enough interior dialogue in that terse dialect of working-class England.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/16/23

Full Review

Scott H

Tried too hard to be artsy, not enough plot to fill the time, predictable and unrealistic. Garfield was a bit too posey in his performance.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/10/23

Full Review

Laurie S

It was a good movie but Eddie surely couldn't have been that stupid to think he wasn't going to have to endure some beatings. Everyone in the police seemed to be currupt, even the station cat was bribed to keep silent with two tins of Whiskes a day. Everyone in the cast risked dying of lung cancer from the amount of smoking they did. It was a gritty Northern film capturing the atmosphere brilliantly.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/28/23

Full Review

Casper v

When a young girl goes missing, Yorkshire Post crime reporter Eddie Dunford becomes intrigued by a series of mysterious child murders that date back several years and mirror to the current case. He faces stiff opposition from the local police and his own editor. Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 is a solid crime/journalism drama, the movie maybe isnt as smart as you hope it to be, however sometimes that doesnt matter. The first act of the movie was definitely the weakest, lots of exposition that had to do of the city of Yorkshire and its people, however I thought they could have definitely done a better job at presenting it to the audience. By far the best thing of this movie, is of course Andrew Garfield, he is simply just electrifing once again. Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 has a solid crime drama behind it, with some solid side performances. The relationship that Andrew Garfield his character had, didnt fully work for me personally, I was just not that invested in it. The movie has a pretty great ending and I must say, a freaking great score. On a technical side, the movie has to offer some solid cinematography for a low budget movie and a cool one take at the end of the movie, that kind of suprised me how good it was. Overall Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 is a solid crime/journalism movie, however it meanly is a character study, of how far you can push a human being, until he breaks, solid stuff!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Teun V

Melodrama wrapped in a style that is sometimes hard to keep up with. One incredibly dumb boy versus a bad world. At first I thought, oh wow, this is dark, this is different. But then it got worse and worse, all the way until the ending.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

09/30/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Story was boring and not really interesting

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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Julian Jarrold

Director

Andrew Garfield

Eddie Dunford

David Morrissey

Maurice Jobson

Rebecca Hall

Paula Garland

Sean Bean

John Dawson

John Henshaw

Bill Hadley

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Tom Long

Detroit News

The Red Riding films all come across as great, gritty tales of police corruption and human failing, but it's the first film that has the most impact, mainly because the young reporter Dunford is such a mix of romantic notions.

Rated: A

Mar 19, 2010

Full Review

Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

This is a noir, the kind where the good-for-nothing gumshoe (here, an investigative reporter) has a habit of getting his face bashed in, usually on account of a girl.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 19, 2010

Full Review

Sam Adams

Philadelphia City Paper

Each film is enriched by collective detail, but it would have been richer had they played off each other rather than extending the argument.

Rated: B

Mar 11, 2010

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

On its own, the film works wonderfully as a piece about corruption overtaking a naïve idealist, but its emotional impact draws us in, compelling the audience to return now that the stage is set.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 22, 2023

Full Review

Taylor Baker

Drink in the Movies

Episode 30: Capernaum / The Red Riding Trilogy / High Flying Bird

Rated: 86/100

Sep 9, 2021

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

Beautifully directed by Jarrold, 1974 is a haunting and frightening portrait of a man willing to find the answers at all costs that approaches Zodiac in its quality.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 5, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

When a young girl goes missing, Yorkshire Post crime reporter Eddie Dunford (Andrew Garfield) becomes intrigued by a series of mysterious child murders that date back several years and mirror to the current case. He faces stiff opposition from the local police and his editor, Bill (John Henshaw). Eddie's troubles escalate when he becomes involved with a moody widow (Rebecca Hall) who has a mysterious connection to wealthy developer John Dawson (Sean Bean).

Director: Julian Jarrold
Executive Producer: Hugo Heppell, Liza Marshall
Screenwriter: Tony Grisoni
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Channel Four Films, Revolution Films, Lipsync Productions
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 5, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 22, 2016

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