Based on David Peace's Red Riding Quartet, these three films were made for British TV, by BBC Channel 4. Written for the screen by Tony Grisoni. Titled 1974, 1980, and 1983. The three films also include actual events that have been greatly dramatized. Mainly, they are about two serial killers, amid the backdrop of rampant police corruption.
I kept hearing about these movies and how "Brilliant" they were. I still think there are a lot of reviewers who think if it's foreign, and obscure, it must be the best thing ever made. Elements of the films were like the finest of British Noir, think Get Carter. Gritty, bleak, and nihilistic. Those were the parts I liked.
Watching these three films was like watching paint dry in a foreign language. I know they were speaking English, I'm sure of it. However, with thick Yorkshire accents, who the hell could understand them, except a fellow Yorkshireman? You could not throw a cat without hitting a "nowt" or a "somat", I mean, I think Sean Bean turned in a fine performance, based on body language and facial expressions alone. All I know for sure is he was a construction contractor who was obsessed with swans, kind of skeezy and used the verb were way too much.
Which leads us to ALLEGORY. I had to shout it, because these films really whack you over the head with the concept. Wolves, rats, swans, corruption, innocence, sin, redemption, carnality, purity and on and on and on. Mostly, these films were confusing and disjointed. I don't think it helped having three different directors.
If you're looking for a gripping thriller about serial killers watch Silence of The Lambs or The Boston Strangler. If you want gritty Brit-Noir, rent Get Carter, the original with Michael Caine, or even The Third Man, voted number 1 film by the British Film Industry.
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