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‘The Bike Thief’ review: Dir. Matt Chambers (2020) [Tokyo International Film Festival]

The film marks the feature debut of writer/ director Matt Chambers.

From debut feature writer and director Matt Chambers comes this intriguing and impressive drama set on the streets of contemporary London. Alec Secareanu – so good in his breakout, God’s Own Country – gives another knockout, stand-out performance as a nameless takeaway driver who has had his moped stolen – a trivial event it may seem, but it is one that has the potential to completely unravel his life.

The Rider (Secareanu) is a Romanian father of two, living in a block flats in an unnamed part of London. He lives with his two children, the youngest just months old, along with his wife, Elena (Anamaria Marinca). The Rider works nights as a pizza delivery driver, his days spent, when not sleeping, dropping their older daughter Miri (Alexia Maria Proca) to school and Elena to her cleaning job in various parts of the capital, young son Toma in hand. They live largely hand-to-mouth, struggling from day to day financially, so when The Rider’s moped – a vehicle they very much rely on – is stolen after a challenging night shift being bullied by his co-workers, his world starts to crumble. ‘No bike, no job. No job, no money. No money, no flat,’ as his boss puts it at one point. He must do everything he can to find his moped before his shift starts – a twenty-four hour period where he is pushed to his limit to recover the vehicle – or find some other means of keeping his life together.

If you’re expecting a relentless thriller with our protagonist darting around the streets of London, then you couldn’t be any further from the tone or intentions of The Bike Thief. What the clearly talented Matt Chambers has delivered here is a much more nuanced, slow-burning affair that involves the viewer from the off. Grounded in gritty reality, the movie plays morel like a kitchen sink social drama, Chambers constantly throwing discussion points into proceedings as Secareanu’s character goes about his dilemma, The Rider pushed to the limit. If anything, the film seems a little too slow – it takes us seven minutes just to get to the title card – and for a film that is just 75 minutes long, it feels a lot longer. While this may put some off, I felt that its pacing added to its appeal and overall feel.

It’s a great debut from Chambers, and he has assembled a crew that also excel. The cinematography by Nanu Segal (The Levelling) it stunning, her camera predominantly capturing the streets of London – mostly at night – simply beautiful – even more so when coupled with Graham Hastings’ impressive score – again, a debut piece of work.

The Bike Thief is a superb debut, a film that is stylish, though realistic, beautiful, gritty, and at various points, subtly anxiety-inducing. A well managed piece about normal people, their choices and the events that can easily be put before them, pushing them into making decisions they may regret. A very grounded, well staged affair from a filmmaker in Chambers who I can’t wait to see where his career takes him next. It’s a stunning debut and a drama that is well worth seeking out.

The Bike Thief

Paul Heath

Film

Summary

An exceptional debut from filmmaker Matt Chambers, and another stand-out performance from Alec Secareanu make The Bike Thief a stand-out, very grounded affair worthy of your attention.

4

The Bike Thief screened at the 2020 Tokyo International Film Festival.

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