Hope for British cinema

After four years, Chris (Mays, ATONEMENT) returns to his hometown, ostensibly to attend a party. But his real motive is to catch up with his old buddy, Shifty (Ahmed, THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO). While away, Chris has settled into responsible adult life and he is shocked to discover that Shifty has started dealing in hard drugs, supplied by the untrustworthy Glen (Flemyng, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON).

Although happy to see Chris, Shifty hasn’t fully forgiven him for leaving in the first place, and we soon learn that the circumstances under which Chris left are more complicated than they first appeared. They spend 24 hours together, with Chris watching Shifty as he deals to a variety of increasingly desperate customers. Over the course of this day they are forced to confront the ghosts from the past and the hopeless and dangerous present that Shifty finds himself in. Rediscovering their friendship, Chris is given an opportunity to prove his loyalty and to save Shifty from himself.
Made for £100,000 in 18 days under a Film London initiative (‘Microwave’), Shifty is the astonishing debut feature from writer/director Eran Creevy.
Like its protagonists, it may look strapped for cash, but there’s not much in the script, direction, acting or editing to betray its low-budget origins.
Based on Creevy’s teenage experiences. Shifty is a fantastic example of a film that manages to do a great deal with very little, an energetic and engaged slice of social realism, that avoids the clichés that might be associated with the genre.
The continuing renaissance in low-budget British cinema.