Road

Audience Reviews

View All (1) audience reviews

DanTheMan 2 An adaptation of Jim Cartwright's stage play, Road unfolds on a derelict street in Manchester during the 1980s, one that director Alan Clarke takes out of the soundstage and into the real streets to capture something incredibly gritty and vivid. It's easily the talkiest Clarke film I've watched so far, the camera itself becomes the narrator, pulling us into houses and gliding down streets with the characters as they converse with each other or talk to themselves or directly to the camera, busting a hole in the fourth wall in a manner tying the film to its theatrical roots but is never less than electrifying here. As is to be expected from Clarke, the film is formally experimental and demands your attention to decipher the meaning beneath the torrent of words and does so with a real attitude that captures the character's frustrations, anger and sadness with a sharp potency. Propelled along by monologues and the rock'n'roll bounce of its soundtrack, this seductive approach peaks in an extraordinary, 8-minute monologue delivered on the move in a state of extreme agitation by actress Lesley Sharp, on a technical level alone it's a staggering sequence, but the pain and torment it registers marks it as one of the finest in all of Clarke's filmography. Although downbeat in its subject matter and its reflection of the Thatcherite desolation of communities, the film is not without its moments of real humour and the sheer energy with which it is made and performed is exceptional, everyone is firing on all cylinders here. Road is an extraordinary work made at the tail end of a remarkable career, one that leaves you aching for what Clarke might have gone on to achieve had his life not been cut so tragically short. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/29/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Road

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW