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Too much of everything

That was an excellent one.

i must have seen a different film!!

Boring

This little gritty film, written and directed by Eran Creevy, is being cleverly marketed for release in the US by Breaking Glass Pictures as a prescription form for drugs and nothing could be more appropriate for a film that examines the intricate manner drugs such as cocaine, crack, etc have on little sectors of England: here, instead of London, the story is set in a seedy East London/Essex border country where drugs seem to affect everyone in one way or the other.A bright, well-schooled Muslim lad named Shifty (Riz Ahmed, in a very fine performance) who lives with his straight mature brother Rez (Nitin Ganatra) who only tries to keep his Muslim family together. Shifty is a young crack cocaine dealer with a regular clientèle - a addicted building site worker Trevor (Jay Simpson) married to a disillusioned wife (who thought he had given up drugs) with three kids, a crack smoking old lady Valerie (Francesca Annis) in her familiar looking flat, framed photograph of a daughter, grand daughter on the mantle. etc. Shifty sees his life quickly spiral out of control when his best friend Chris (Daniel Mays) returns home after an absence of several years due to a dark secret that we only learn about at film's end. Stalked by a customer desperate to score at all costs, and with his family about to turn their back on him for good, Shifty must out-run and out-smart a rival drug dealer Glen (Jason Flemyng) intent on setting him up for a big fall. As his long time friend Chris, confronts the dark past he left behind him (nightmares abound!), Shifty is forced to face up to the violent future he's hurtling towards. And oddly it is the presence of Chris that finally, after years of remorse over a bad decision, is there for Shifty.Much of what makes this little film work so well is the writer/director's decision to make this a series of character studies than a series of mayhem scenes. Yes, there are brutal scenes that represent the drug world as it functions on all levels, but in the final analysis it is the story of the people reacting to the drug culture - dealers, family, druggies, victims, friends, and children of all these. It is a very potent little film. The only disadvantage is that there (at this time) are no subtitles, and the various forms of English accents are at times not understandable. This is a powerful little film that delves more deeply than other films about the drug culture and its impact on society. Grady Harp,

Yes, a good film, and for one made for a £100 grand a hell of an achievement. The performances were good to excellent (the Trevor character in particular was particularly convincing). I like the fact the film makers had not resorted to simplistic visuals to get the message across. For example the estate where they lived looked pretty nice and yet even with the sunshine you still felt this story was right there.My only reservations are I didn't consider the banter was as convincing as everybody seems to think it was. But mainly it was the subject matter. Guns, gangsters, drugs, family conflict here we go again. Apparently, the original script focused on the dealer and his customers and that would have suited me more. But if you get the chance to see it - well worth a look.

Chris finds himself returning to his old neighbourhood to confront the past, the tragic death of a girl and the friend he left behind, who has immersed himself into a world of drugs and violence. The film follows, Chris and Shifty as they sell drugs, run from the cops and criminals.The acting is brilliant, Riz Ahmed and Daniel Mays are fantastic in their roles, but I just found myself becoming bored of the direction of the film, the storyline, the pace, the banter in between.British Gangster films tend to be all 'Suits and Cockney' accent tough guys, Shifty is more realistic and gritty. But unfortunately the director seems to have little grasp on the storyline, it just a random walkabout.All in all, top class actors....poor director and screen-writer.

Considering that this was the Writer / Director's (Eran Creevy) first feature film (previously he had made several music videos and adverts), and that it had been shot in 18 days on a budget of just £100K, this was a really rather good film.The actors were very competent, especially Riz Ahmed (as Shifty), Daniel Mays (as Chris) and Jason Flemyng (as Glen) who were all very believable in their roles, the narrative moved along nicely, and there were enough twists and turns (especially at the end) to keep everyone interested in the plot – and to what was happening to the characters.The action revolves around two school friends that had lost touch and had just met up again after four years … one of them becoming increasingly involved in drug dealing … much to his friends dismay.Apparently the tale was based on the tale of a boyhood friend of the directors – which heavily influenced the writing and the ambiance of the film … this may well have had a bearing on the Director's feel for the story – and "getting it right" – this passion certainly shone through with regards to the subject matter – and the atmosphere of the finished film.An added bonus (as this was an early preview screening) was that the Director (Eran Creevy) and one of the main cast members (Jason Flemyng – Snatch, Transporter 2, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, etc.) were on hand for a Q&A session with the audience after the film – which was most welcomed and went down very well.It may have been the directors first film – but it certainly won't be his last