Red Riding Trilogy (2009)

Those of you with weak hearts or stomachs should not watch this three part British crime series. The three parts are:

  • Part 1: 1974
  • Loosely based on the facts surrounding Britain’s notorious Yorkshire Ripper case, this grim thriller, Part 1 in the television adaptation of David Peace’s novels, uncovers rampant police and civil corruption in mid-1970s Northern England. Girls are disappearing, the Yorkshire community is abuzz with gossip and fear, and a young reporter (Andrew Garfield) is suspicious when a mentally handicapped immigrant is fingered for the heinous crimes

  • Part 2: 1980
  • After six years of vicious unsolved murders, Manchester policeman Peter Hunter (Paddy Considine) arrives in West Yorkshire to supervise the Yorkshire Ripper investigation, along with a copycat killer case, in this second installment of the Red Riding trilogy. Meanwhile, he must also deal with local police corruption and his struggle to remain faithful to his wife while working closely with his ex, fellow investigator Helen Marshall (Maxine Peake).

  • Part 3: 1983
  • When the current case of a missing 10-year-old becomes linked to the abduction and murder of Clare Kemplay in 1974, investigators torture the man who found Clare’s body in an effort to learn more in this final installment of the Red Riding trilogy. Meanwhile, solicitor John Piggott’s (Mark Addy) conversations with the man found guilty of the old abduction points to a wrongful conviction and a search for the real murderer.

Each part is self-contained. Cynical in the extreme, these hopeless portraits deal with insurmountable official corruption at every level: police, journalists, politicians, businessmen, etc. At times the violence is difficult to watch.

Two items of interest: One reader has supplied an interesting bit of Yorkshire history that may explain the title. Also, because the plots are somewhat complicated, there is a Wikipedia article.

So why would you ever watch such a difficult theme ? Because these three gems are just about perfect in every way, provided you can stand to watch.

One thought on “Red Riding Trilogy (2009)”

  1. Bit of trivia for you Tony. I’m guessing the reason for the title is that Yorkshire (the UK’s biggest [and best ;-)] county) was historically split into “Ridings”, of which one was the West Riding in which these events seem to have (mostly) happened. The Ridings no longer officially exist, and what was the West Riding has now become (roughly) West Yorkshire. Although my home town of Skipton is now in the county of North Yorkshire, even though it was in the West Riding. (Even more controversially some nearby villages were ‘lost’ to Yorkshire and became part of the arch rivals Lancashire. Villagers with long memories of the wars of the Roses (Yorkshire’s symbol is the White Rose, Lancashire’s the red) have nonetheless erected a sign at the entrance to the village, proudly proclaiming “Welcome to Yorkshire.” Old tribal loyalties and rivalries die very slowly.

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