British gangster film that maybe tries too hard to tick every box but ends up like a teenage photo story - we see key points, but very little of the gradual slide we have to assume when someone's character is completely inverted. For one teenage girl not to notice that her best friend has become a drug-smuggling sex worker pulling in thousands of pounds stretches credibility.
Every tabloid horror story about teens drawn into crime is represented here: youngsters tempted by new trainers; recent recruits used to pull in new blood; grooming until victims are hooked, then brutality; money, flash cars, guns; abusive childhoods; vaguely middle-class targets; loan sharks; even a grifting bent copper.
It is not a bad film. There are some issues with sound recording; locations are a bit too genteel; the least convincing secondary school girls' toilet ever; but there are some good performances. The two leads, Myles and April, are convincing, with Kiera Lane (I think) outstanding in what appears to be her debut. The director features as a gang member whose role is unclear but whose malevolence is beyond doubt.
The last act is confused - perhaps deliberately - by the timeline jumping back and forwards. I understand why, but it didn't work for me. Overall, though, a solid effort that could be tweaked to make a genuinely good film.
