Bluff

A compelling watch. The film location was a great choice giving an insight into Birmingham's underworld. The main cast gave the film a modern Bollywood feel and the supporting actors provided the authenticity which did in fact made the film - of which they should have had more visibility and played a bigger part as their characters were interesting. It was felt that the main character's name was a strategic choice to get the viewers in. Overall, the film lacked the vital authenticity of the make-up of Birmingham but was visually impactful and stimulating and a good watch.

I was not planning to experience this quality from a YouTube freebie. The writing is really worth the work the movie demands of the viewer. I enjoyed the cinematography from what is basically a three man show. There are very few holes, considering the budget.

There is a mosaic like quality to the way the scenes assemble themselves into a whole that I found rewarding. Although some of the segs are a little rough at first sight, as the movie proceeds, they become easier to comprehend.

I will dwell as little as possible on the budget, which makes this flick the stuff of legend, simply because it stands on its own irrespective of that consideration. This simply a legitimate work of art.

An angry, gritty grenade of a film, that questions the ends, the means, and everything in between of UK drug laws.

An inspiring debut by Sheikh Shahnawaz - one of the best Midlands' directors since Shane Meadows.

Nolan-esque in all the right ways, and with a third act that'll hit you much harder than 'The Departed'.

Phenomenal score by Savfk.

The film's genius is the tangled ties between Gurj Gill's ambitious cop and Jason Adam's abandoned junkie.

A well written, involving, even gripping crime thriller. The whole piece is so well done and believable. I don't know if it's based on a true story. But if it's not, it certainly feels like it was. All so vivid and real. The characters are all interesting, the dialogue is great. And every performance in the film was spot on. Just excellent.

Director: Sheikh Shahnawaz

Writer: Sheikh Shahnawaz (Screenplay)

Starring: Gurj Gill, Jason Adam, Nisaro Karim, James Jaysen Bryhan (Shadow and Bone) Joe Egan (Sherlock Holmes) .

Bluff starts when a London Police officer Danny Miller (Gill) accepts an offer to go undercover from his superior, Detective Collins (Bryhan) in the heroin world in a small town, making friends with addict Cooks (Adam), to learn about the other connections within the area.

The line between his job and being a criminal becomes hazy, as his investigation becomes dangerous the closer he gets to finding out the source of the drug trafficker.

The performances from Gill, Adam Karim and Bryhan (though we don't really see much of his character, we see an amazing amount of emotions from being Gill's superior to being a father figure and I personally would've liked to see more of the relationship between Gill and Bryhan) are fantastic.

What's wonderful about this film, aside from telling a story of a cop going undercover(which we've all seen) is that the story resonates around Cooks (Adam) addiction and how he deals with it. That was quite refreshing and i was invested in his character.

I hope that there is a sequel and though I won't give away the ending, I'd like to see what happens next between Collins(Bryhan) and Miller(Gill).

Overall, a 9 out of 10 for me as i believe the appearances of Egan and Bryhan as established known actors sell the film with a virtually unknown cast.