Red Road

Two days ago I finally got round to watching Red Road, a film written and directed by Andrea Arnold released in 2006. Red Road is a gritty, Glasgow based drama about a woman working as a CCTV operator, seeking to avenge the death of her family when she discovers that the culprit (a crack addict who lost control of the wheel of his car while driving) has been released from jail. The film shots move from the CCTV screen image (a screen within a screen) to 'real' footage in rapid succession as, unbeknown to the culprit, his every movement is tracked. Perpetrator and victim switch roles, the power control between the characters shifts, mediated by technology. The CCTV camera becomes the victim's (turned victimiser's) weapon of choice. But where do we, the twice removed viewers, come into the equation? The CCTV system this film represents is not, as some thought, some kind of Orwellian sci-fi fantasy, but the reality. In an interview with The Guardian Arnold say, 'you've got to try and present the truth, haven't you? Whatever that is.' Ironically the same interview also states, 'she's almost phobic about [the public's] gaze falling on her.' The ugly truth of the matter is this, for all the pleasure of watching, there is always a counterbalancing quantity of discomfort in being watched!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2006/oct/18/londonfilmfestival2006.londonfilmfestival1