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When the team that brought us the pared-down rules based filmmaking that was the Dogme �95 movement decide on something new, it is worth taking note. With Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg seemingly concentrating on disseminating American culture (and putting a few noses out of joint along the way) their Zentropa studio has moved to their next project; the Advance Party � a three film concept in which the same group of characters � developed by Anders Thomas Jensen (Brothers) & Lone Scherfig (Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself) � appear in films set in the same city (Glasgow) from different first time Directors. The first of these, co-produced with Scotland�s Sigma Films, is Red Road �  the feature length debut from Andrea Arnold whose short film Wasp picked up the Live Action Short Film Oscar in 2004.

Shot in grimily atmospheric detail the film focuses on the obsession that Jackie, a Glaswegian CCTV Operator, forms for Clyde, a man she spots hanging around the rough Red Road estate she is monitoring and instantly recognises. It becomes clear that there is something of a history between the two, though the viewers prejudices and expectations are consistently turned on the their head as the plot develops and it is initially unclear to what extent the two previously have had contact. Morsels of information are relayed to us � we find that Clyde is a recent parolee living in one of the dingy flats with young couple Martin and April. He may or may not be trying to keep his nose clean, it is difficult to tell. As Jackie goes from tracking Clyde on the monitors of work, to physically stalking him, the reason for her obsession gradually becomes what we think to be clearer. It isn�t of course. Clyde�s reaction to seeing Jackie suggests he doesn�t know her, throwing our carefully suggested assumptions out of the high-rise window. Clyde is instantly attracted to Jackie, and she plays along accordingly leading to a point where the threads of back-story finally come together and Jackie�s motives are ultimately revealed.

Picking up the Jury Prize at this years Cannes Festival, Red Road has proved that Andrea Arnold�s unflinching visual style is no turn off for the critics. How it will fare with the paying public is another matter of course, but what there is no doubt of is that this is a talent perfectly matched to subject matter. Served by a magnetic central performance from Kate Dickie as Jackie, Arnold builds tension without resorting to stock music and intimidating camera angles. As the perfect foil to Dickie�s tight-lipped iciness, Tony Curran (recently seen in Miami Vice) exudes the cool danger of Clyde, fascinating and intimidating in equal measure, and the cast is rounded out with strong support from Compston (Sweet Sixteen) and Press (My Summer of Love).

What really sets this film apart is the manner in which the viewer is manipulated and becomes utterly involved in the plot development. In a manner reminiscent of Haneke, our social prejudices are played with, we are allowed to build assumptions on characters, and offered both confirmation and contradiction in equal measure. The lens of the CCTV images, and of the film itself offers us no guarantee of truth.