Red Riding Trilogy I. In The Year Of Our Lord 1974 ( 2009) [Julian Jarrold]

1974. Eddie Dunford (Andrew Garfield) is a cocky and naïve cub reporter for The Yorkshire Post. John Dawson (Sean Bean) is an unscrupulous local real estate developer, representing a group of investors. Their paths cross when Dunford investigates a series of murdered or missing schoolgirls, one of whom is found on Dawson's property, tortured, raped, and strangled. Dawson has used a combination of bribery (small ownership shares in a new shopping center) and blackmail to secure the support of the local councillors, allowing him to purchase land and gain zoning approval to construct the shopping centre. He has also used the same bribes and blackmail with the newly formed West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police (WYMP), who harass the Romani people camping on the land he wants.

Dunford is spurred on by comments from people, including his gay reporter friend Barry Gannon (Anthony Flanagan), who warns of trouble then dies in an accident. An elusive male hustler, B.J. (Robert Sheehan), gives Dunford incriminating materials gathered by Gannon (some provided by Dawson) about local officials. During his investigation of Gannon's death, Dunford believes that he has found an ally in a reform-minded young police officer.

Dunford becomes romantically involved with Paula Garland (Rebecca Hall), mother of a missing girl. He learns from Paula that she is also sexually involved with Dawson, whom she has known all her life.

Dunford ignores corrupt WYMP officers' threats, complete with beatings, to lay off the story. Dunford convinces Paula to leave town with him, then briefly leaves her to deliver the Gannon materials to his police officer friend. When he returns, Paula is missing, so he storms a large party at Dawson's palatial home, celebrating the signing of the shopping center deal, to demand Paula be returned.

Dunford is arrested by corrupt cops, brutally beaten and psychologically tortured, then shown Paula's dead body. His supposed ally policeman has given the Gannon documents to Detective Superintendent Maurice Jobson (David Morrissey), who has them destroyed. The only remaining threat to the corrupt officials is that Dawson might talk, so police officers Tommy Douglas (Tony Mooney) and Bob Craven (Sean Harris) finish torturing Dunford, tell him that Dawson killed Paula (the viewer never knows for sure), then give him a loaded handgun to deal with Dawson.

Bloody and frantic, Dunford seeks out Dawson, eventually finding him at his private club. Dawson offers that he was "no angel" and that he had "a private weakness", implying that he is somehow connected to the murdered and missing girls. Dunford shoots Dawson dead and flees in his car, but reverses course when he finds himself chased by police cars. Dunford deliberately drives toward the pursuing police cars; a vision of Paula appears to him before his death in the ensuing collision.

Red Riding Trilogy I. In The Year Of Our Lord 1974 ( 2009) [Julian Jarrold]