The first half of this well crafted Scottish thriller does a nice job of ratcheting up the dramatic tension, but as time goes by the main character takes increasingly greater risks that demand a much more revelatory reveal than we receive. Fortunately the acting is consistently superb even if the story isn’t. The plot revolves around a woman whose job it is to watch surveillance cameras placed around the city and report suspicious activity to the police. While doing her job, she one day catches a glimpse of someone on camera whom apparently she knows or at least knows of, and his appearance and her reaction to it become the meat of the movie. Red Road is intended as the first of the so-called Advance Party Trilogy – each film to be helmed by a first-time director. For a debut film, Red Road is impressive, yet I am in disagreement with a poll taken by The Observer (U.K.) Film Quarterly in which several filmmakers and critics voted it as one of the best British films of the last 25 years. Personally, I do not put in the same league as Trainspotting (#1 in the poll) or Secrets & Lies (#3), but that’s just me. Still, I’m intrigued enough to want to see the next film when it’s available (the second installment, Rounding Up Donkeys was in production as of 2010). As for this director, she may be one to watch. 3.5 stars.