Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983 (2009)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Since it is possible I am one of only seven people on the planet who has made an effort to watch this trilogy OUTSIDE OF THE ORIGINAL BROADCAST TIME, voluntarily and without duress, and I have reviewed the two prior episodes on the IMDb, I will try to give you a taste of this final chapter. Not an easy task. The good news is that, of the 3, the feel and direction is the most assured, that is to say, the narrative (confusing as it is, AND IT IS!) moves along smartly and keeps the viewer busy. Which is a good thing, since things got so dark in the second instalment that the DVD sleeve came with the number of the local suicide hotline pre-printed. And buried deep beneath all the confusion and obfuscation (much of which is done to the viewer DELIBERATELY) there is a nice sub-theme of redemption for not just one but two of the central characters. Which is nice film-making and a bit of a treat. Also liked Mark Addy. I liked his comedy work on the other side of the pond (Still Standing) and thought he did brilliantly here in a serious dramatic role. That was the good news. The bad news is that, to even have a hope of understanding what is happening here, you need to watch the two episodes, which, as far as I know, is a prohibited act under the rules of the Geneva Convention.

Finally something really, really interesting came out of one of the films of this "Red Riding" series. Even dwelling on some known areas the plot in this third installment gives some surprises, some tension and some excitement the other flicks didn't have or struggled to make us interested. Finally connected the stories, revealed the answers for the mysteries and concluded beautifully. But "Red Riding Hood - In the Year of Our Lord 1983" wouldn't be a film of the franchise without confusing us a little bit. My problem with these "confusion" is that all of that is a mask to sound and look complicated but when you dig deep into the characters and situations you'll actually find an easier film to connect than most serial killer films really are. Without the journalist Eddie Dunford (only through one flashback) and the investigator of the previous film, this "Red Riding" has two main characters trying to solve the case involving the disappearance of little girls: it brings back detective Maurice Jobson (David Morrissey) and introduces John Piggott (Mark Addy), a lawyer representing the wrongfully accused of being the killer of some of these girls. When Piggott's on scene the movie develops very well but when Jobson segment is presented sometimes it works (now he's quite soft, not even dealing well with torture during interrogations of suspects) other times it doesn't (some of his dramatic moments aren't good enough to make you care about him, but it is most for the fact I can't stand the actor behind the role, an bad imitation of Liam Neeson). So here we have two goals: to find the real killer and the reasons behind it, and to release innocent people from jail. Again it's a movie about the crimes without the need of showing how they happen, but this time we have a more violent film than the two others (specially police's brutality and the final revelation behind the crimes).This one was far more intelligent than the previous film, it really created thrilling sequences, very surprising and I enjoyed a lot. It was less tiring than 1974 and 1980 parts. Mark Addy was brilliant here in a dramatic role, playing this dedicate lawyer. Compared with what Hollywood throws every single year this and the other "Red Riding" are precious pictures with great quality. It's a decent trilogy. 8/10

And at last the third installment of the Red Trilogy set in 1983. Yorkshire is still the last place I would like to visit except, perhaps Avganistan or Somalia. We encounter the same: policemen sociopaths in alarming numbers, the broken, desperate people that they are policing, and victims, sad innocents that make your hart ache and bleed. It would be extremely unrealistic to expect neatly wrapped resolution, all the villains securely in jail, and the good guys winning and taking over.The Red Trilogy might have few survivors, deeply scarred and bruised, but the general feeling is the great bleakness that's called 70's and 80's Yorkshire. Fitting ending to a terrific series.

This third part of the mini series presents once more a different genre with this very insightful and philosophical conclusion. The movie is less darker and brutal than the first two ones and talks more about hope than desperation. The movie talks about moral, forgiveness and remorse and presents once more a few new and profound characters.The movie has three main actors and begins with the fact that another young girl has been kidnapped nine years after the last murder. The remorseful cop Maurice Jobson, played by the brilliant David Morissey, wants to stop the insanity and begins to question the corruption, the violence and lies within the police. He falls in love with a clairvoyant and wants to save the kidnapped girl with her while his partners try to find a scapegoat for the new crime. He realizes that he has done some mistakes in his life and wants to change. He is now looking for forgiveness, truth and justice.The second main character is the fat and disillusioned lawyer John Piggott, played in a rather mediocre way by Mark Addy, whose father was one of the corrupt police officers that has been killed in mysterious circumstances, helps after much hesitation the mothers of the two scapegoats that are or have to go to prison for crimes they didn't commit.The third main character is the young and homosexual BJ, brilliantly played by Robert Sheehan, who has escaped from Torkshire and travels around the country to come back for a last act of vengeance.All those three characters come together in a grand finale. But before this conclusion, the story meanders back and forth through space and time and creates connections to the first two movies and even new connections beyond that. Those scenes help to create once more some very diversified and profound characters but it is sometimes difficult to follow this pattern and to understand what is happening right now or in the past. There are many flashbacks and changes of space and time in the movie and that makes it less dynamical and intense to watch than the first two ones. The strong point of the movie are the interesting characters and the fact that many points are explained and many questions are answered to that haven't been before.But I still felt disappointed about the conclusion. It seems too simple to me and I would have liked to have some more original explications, for example concerning the connection of the businessman Dawson to the murders.Because of the conclusion and less intense atmosphere, this third part is the weakest one of the series in my opinion. But I still gave seven stars because of the interesting characters and the fact that almost everything is explained in the conclusion of the movie. The philosophical style of this movie is very interesting but I preferred the drama style of the second or the first movie that was a great film noir and my favourite part of the series.All in all, this trilogy is interesting to watch and really presents three different kinds of a movie and creates connections in between them in an interesting way. Artistically, those series are really well done and most of the actors did an amazing job. But there is a lack of suspense in this slow paced series and the criminal investigations are rather boring. It was a good idea to watch the series, but honestly, I wouldn't but it or watch it again for a while.1974: 7,5 stars 1980: 7 to 7,5 stars 1983: 7 stars