Shifty, a young crack cocaine dealer in London, sees his life quickly spiral out of control when his best friend returns home. 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, intent on setting him up for a big fall.
UK
UK15
USA
UK
USA
standard london street drug dealer faire and not much more... but Riz Ahmed really shines through in his first feature film as a leading man
I've had Shifty on my 'To Watch' pile for some time now. To give you an indication as to how long, it's been on the TV twice *I think* since I first recorded it. Whoops.
What took me so long?
Ostensibly, this is a Broken Britain film (is it just me who feels a bit cynical towards that phrase? I was born in 1979, I don't think I've ever seen Britain 'fixed') but it is one that has grown out of the cringey and all too earnest dour adolescence of the likes of Kidulthood and is thankfully a mature and rewarding production. It's shot on a shoestring budget, though there's not a single frame to show that truth up.
It…
Urban British crime thrillers sometimes open up a can of worms showing the underbelly of society that I would rather try to pretend didn't exist. Crime, drugs, the breakdown of families, urban decay of a forgotten youth culture looking for an escape from their inner-city nightmare are all featured in a film that doesn't shy away from the more serious issues affecting society. Shifty was director Eran Creevy's first feature film and this was a brave gritty thriller that gave two young British rising stars the chance to shine. Riz Ahmed gives a convincing performance as a young drug dealer who's settled into a life under the radar who suddenly finds himself in a spot of bother as things spiral…
I'm very much a member of the school of thought that Daniel Mays is, by and large, not a good actor.
The first thing I saw him in was Ashes to Ashes, where he was actually very good. But since then I couldn't honestly name a role where I thought that his Ashes to Ashes performance wasn't a huge fluke. But Shifty has me wondering if he's just picked lots of shit roles or roles that have brought out his worst tendencies as an actor.
There were one or two moments where he seemed a bit shaky, because he is prone to overacting is the boy, but then he was cast next to Riz Ahmed.…
Shifty asks his white friend if he was okay with halal sausages while talking about how much he likes huge tits and getting cocaine out of his freezer. It’s the right balance of representation the world needs to see. Otherwise, not for me, oops!
Very true to life, with relatable characters.
Fantastic performances from Ahmed and Mays.
Dialogue is spot on. This is really how people talk.
why everyone bald
You could well go into Shifty expecting another flash cockney gangster film full of glamorisation of 'ard nuts and gang culture, but you'd be wrong. Eran Creevy, in his debut feature, writes and directs a story set in a murky council estate London and the world of cocaine dealing but its more an urban fable about a long-lost friendship and a group of characters on a path of self-destruction.
It makes for a more interesting film from Creevy than one might expect, even though he doesn't crank the gears of narrative into action enough in the first half, choosing a slow and almost introspective pace that admittedly allows him to deconstruct out three key players: Daniel Mays a calming presence…
definitely didn't deserve 5 stars i was right in my first review he looks sooo good here
overrating this because riz ahmed looked so good idc
Not bad, but expected more
had to watch it after we kept watching the opening sequence in class. Thought it was pretty good but not amazing
