Shifty Review

Shifty
An old friend returns to town and 'Shifty', an almost reluctantly, successful crack dealer finds things get a lot more complicated.

by Dan Jolin |
Published on
Release Date:

24 Apr 2009

Running Time:

NaN minutes

Certificate:

TBC

Original Title:

Shifty

Following on from Steven Sheil’s lo-fi horror Mum & Dad, Shifty offers further testament to the value of Film London’s Microwave scheme, whereby upcoming filmmakers get to make their pictures with a budget of £100,000.

Writer/director Eran Creevy crafts a conventional tale (awkward homecoming for friend with dark past, good-hearted protagonist entangled in crime), but laces it with some wonderfully idiosyncratic detail. Both leads — Riz Ahmed as the eponymous dealer, Daniel Mays as his prodigal pal Chris — turn in warm performances, and while Creevy lets himself down a little with a forced twist, his film is an engaging and intelligently character-driven calling card.

Good central performances in this highly, entertaining character-driven debut.

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