A feature debut that won an armful of awards for English filmmaker Andrea Arnold, Red Road is a stark story of sex and surveillance that's marred only by some credulity-stretching plot developments in the last act. Until then, Arnold's film is an engrossing tour of the meanest streets of Glasgow.

Since many of said streets are constantly filmed on closed-circuit cameras, it's up to Jackie (Kate Dickie) to monitor the action. Though she goes about her nightly task with a stern sense of professionalism, her ethics go out the window after she spies Clyde (Tony Curran), an ex-con with whom she has a tragic connection.

What ensues can be roughly described as Sean Penn's The Crossing Guard remade as a Scottish erotic thriller. This unexpected transition between Ken Loach-style social realism and a more sensationalistic mode loosens Arnold's otherwise confident grip on the proceedings and the implausible climactic revelations diminish the impact of what's come before. Thankfully, Arnold's talent is more convincing than her storyline, making Red Road one of the most arresting first films in recent years.

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