Red Riding: 1974 (2010)

RED RIDING - 1974 (Directed by Julian Jarrold) centers on a rookie journalist, Eddie Dunford (Andrew Garfield), whose investigation of a series of child abductions and murders leads him to suspect that there's a terrifying connection between the perpetrators and the upper echelons of Yorkshire power.

Long Synopsis

Despite the fact that he is supposed to be attending his father's funeral, Eddie Dunford, a local crime reporter at the Yorkshire Post, and his colleague, Barry Gannon, are called to a press conference where an emotional Mrs Kemplay makes a moving plea for help in finding her missing daughter, Claire.

Intrigued by news that two other girls went missing in similar circumstances over the last decade, and spurred on by Barry, Eddie decides to investigate the links between the three cases, persuading his editor, Bill Hadley, to let him follow the lead.

Eddie interviews DCS Bill Molloy about the Kemplay case and explains his theories but is given short shrift by the hardened detective. Not one to be put off, Eddie drives to Rochdale to see if he can meet the parents of the girl who's been missing the longest - Susan Ridyard, who disappeared in 1969. However, while in Rochdale he hears that Clare Kemplay's body has been discovered and realises that he's missed out on a big scoop.

Back at the paper Hadley is not best pleased by Eddie's mistake and has handed the story to crime reporter of the year, Jack Whitehead, to follow up on the discovery of Clare's body. Undeterred, and against the wishes of his editor, Eddie goes to meet 16 year old Leonard Cole who found the body on a construction site owned by local property magnate, John Dawson. Leonard, who lives with his mother, Mary, and a local vicar, Martin Laws, is clearly disturbed by what he has seen and when Eddie later persuades Whitehead to let him see the post mortem report, he is sickened to learn of the brutality of her murder and the sight of the swans' wings stitched onto her back.

Barry is hot on a lead regarding Dawson and local corruption instigated by his business dealings. Hadley, keen to keep Barry reigned in, asks Eddie to keep an eye on him as he interviews Dawson's fragile wife. However, Eddie decides to head to Castleford instead, to meet Paula Garland, the mother of Jeanette -- missing since 1972.

Following a disastrous meeting with Paula, Eddie is threatened by two local cops, Craven and Douglas. Convinced this beating is in response to his earlier encounter with Paula he goes back to Castleford to find her in her local pub and apologise for any misunderstanding. It's obvious that the two are very much attracted to each other and, taking Paula's lead, Eddie follows her back to her house for the night.

The next morning Eddie is woken by a telephone call to say that Barry has been found dead. This is made all the more poignant as Barry had been warned about his safety by Dawson's wife.

Before his death, Barry instructed his secret informant, BJ, to pass on all his research findings regarding Dawson to Eddie if anything should happen to him. Acting on all the information he has been given, Eddie visits Mrs Dawson to try to find out more about what she knows but she soon becomes hysterical and PC Craven and PC Douglas burst into the room and brutally beat Eddie up again.

Intrigued by a brief meeting with John Dawson after Barry's funeral, Eddie is invited to the Karachi Club for a more lengthy meeting with the property magnate and, having his suspicions about Dawson's relationship with Paula, he is keen to get answers. Dawson, eager to keep the media on his side, offers Eddie a scoop -- the chance to out a local counsellor who is standing in the way of Dawson's business plans. Turning down the chance of a front page story, Eddie goes to confront Paula about her relationship with Dawson and offer her the chance of a new life, down south with him. As he leaves Paula to pack, Eddie goes to visit Bob Fraser, the one policeman who he considers to be honourable, and entrusts Barry's research to him. Eddie returns to collect Paula and is stunned to find she is now missing.

Suddenly consumed by terror and dread, Eddie drives to Shangrila, Dawson's home, where a party is in full swing, and asks Dawson to tell him where Paula is. Thrown out, Eddie finds himself in the belly of a police station where he's tortured within an inch of his life. Just as things seemingly can't get any worse, Eddie is shown something so shocking that the only thing on his mind is revenge.