Greenes
Please don't spend money on this.
Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
Isbel
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Cheryl
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
Angelus2
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.
FlashCallahan
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.As his long time friend Chris, confronts the dark past he left behind him, Shifty is forced to face up to the violent future he's hurtling towards....A stunning British drama that focuses on people rather than drugs, is what Shifty is all about. Having the main protagonist be a Muslim, is a marvellous move from the makers, as it adds a whole new angle, to what could have been another average Drug film.Everyone puts in a bravura performance, and all the way through the film, you feel Shifty's 'point of no return' as you see his life start to spiral out of control.The ending likes to think that it is cleverer than what it actually is, and it feels a little like the end of 'Silence of the lambs', but it's still an incredible film.Funny in parts, depressing in others, it shows desperation of addicts, and also empathy for people who take drugs to escape reality, and than people facing up to reality.
jfcthejock
Well its something we Brits are good at, making gritty dramas like Adulthood and even Bulletboy. Here we return to the genre with Shifty, set in a turbulent London gangland but also those it affects who are not a part of it. Violent and shocking, but its this quality that wins it for me unlike most movies that make the young viewers want to be a part of this world this movie shows us the other side of the glamour, the guns and the power. Those we love can get entangled in it and become at risk or in danger.To many of us that is the one drawback of this life, again a stellar cast and top notch acting that could shame some of the more poor gritty films of this calibre out there. A star film pure and simple, a great addition to British cinema.
ianlouisiana
Just like a tyro musician who can impress with a few cool-sounding licks, young director Eran Creevey flatters to deceive in "Shifty".The neat tricks are there,the veneer of newly-learned techniques rapidly absorbed,but beneath the facade of cinematic urban grit there isn't actually much depth.The movie is yet another look at the drug underclass,all of whom,apparently,are living lives of rather noisy but cinematic desperation. Set in some hellhole (but grittily photogenic)outpost of the East London/Essex border country,it features a Muslim drug dealer as he goes about his daily business and his old schoolfriend who is trying to persuade his pal to mend his ways.They meet all kinds of strange(but grittily photogenic) characters.Er,that's about it,really. Although decidedly 21st century in content and context,"Shifty" can be traced back to "Cathy come home" from the 1960s and even earlier attempts to depict the hopelessness and misery (albeit grittily photogenic)of the lives of many inhabitants of this fair isle. Indeed it would appear that life for some is worse now than it was then but at least we've got guys like Shifty to ease our burden.Back then we left the pram outside the "Dog and Duck",drank ourselves senseless then staggered home to beat the hell out of the wife.Now,thanks to our friendly local pusher,we need never leave the privacy of our homes.Thank God for progress. It is remarkable that "Shifty" was made for £100,000.I congratulate all concerned most sincerely on their achievement.I hope Eran Creevey doesn't disappear down the black hole marked "MTV videos",I really do. However,having said all that,I would be less than honest to be praising it unreservedly.It is what it is - a promising movie debut,no more,no less.