CINEMA: Shifty

British crime/social dramas are often shite, for every The Long Good Friday there is The Heavy, but this film from first time writer and director Eran Creevy manages to not only impress but shows great promise for the future as well.

The story, set in the outskirts of London, follows 24 hours in the life of Chris (Danny Mays), returning to the town where he grew up to visit his friend Shifty (Riz Ahmed) who he left behind. He finds out that Shifty is now dealing hard drugs and is caught up with local nutter Glen (Jason Flemyng). Chris wants Shifty to leave all this behind and come back with him to Manchester where he has a good job, mortgage and normal life so that he can start again. But Shifty is still angry that Chris left, and in the course of one day things for the pair spiral out of control.

From the start of this film you know that it is all going to rest on the two central performances of Chris and Shifty, and Mays and Ahmed do not disappoint at all. Mays you will probably recognise from Channel 4’s recent sitcom Plus One where he showed his prowess at comedy and here he shows he is just as good at drama, giving Chris the emotional depth needed to make him not only believable but also likeable. Ahmed was seen as the boyfriend of Jaime Winstone in Charlie Brooker’s excellent Dead Set where despite having a minor but pivotal role proved his worth.

Here he provides Shifty with much humanity in that it’s always difficult for an audience to identify with a drug dealer. However, the film written from Creevy’s teenage experiences is honest and real enough for us to support Shifty despite his dodgy job. It’s also brilliantly scored with the music never drowning out the dialogue or action sequences which can often happen in first features.

Creevy does a great job of directing with some stunning photography that even manages to make the estate Shifty lives on look almost magical in places! The supporting cast and characters are a little clichéd in places like the coke-addicted builder and the thief who pops up more for comic relief than story development. Flemyng proves again that he can do evil just as easily as nice but has a very stereotypical drug dealer character to deal with, complete with stoned girls hanging around him which belies the films intelligence somewhat.

Overall Shifty is a gritty, realistic and a genuine warning to people and works well as a coming-of-age study of two 20-something men who need to grow up and find a real purpose in life.

Mark Cappuccio