Director: Julian Gilbey.
Starring: Ed Speleers, Will Poulter, Alfie Allen, Emma Rigby, Sebastian De Souza.
Running Time: 102 minutes.
Certificate: 15.
Synopsis: Sam (Ed Speleers) and Fordy (Will Poulter) run a credit card fraud scheme, but when they steal from the wrong man, they find themselves threatened by a sadistic gangster. They need to pull off a daring diamond heist to clear their debt.
BAFTA golden boy Will Poulter shakes off the comedy for new action drama PLASTIC, a far darker film than the posters suggest. Though there is sex, debauchery and plenty of money being thrown about, PLASTIC is a thrilling adventure about what happens when you bite off more than you can chew.
Four friends who have been running a credit card scam for years find themselves in trouble when one of their blackmailing attempts attracts the attention of a gangster. Forced to raise millions to get this guy off their backs, their journey takes them across the world and forces them to think far bigger than anything they’ve pulled off before.
Based on a true story and with an impressive young British cast including Ed Speleers and Alfie Allen, PLASTIC has all the energy, backstabbing, cars and nudity film fans could want. Speleers and Poulter really dominate the film with impressive, intense and engrossing performances, yet sadly the others are something of a mixed bag. Allen is wholly unlikeable as the arrogant and annoying Yatesey – a role very much like his infamous Game Of Thrones character – simply coming off as a spoilt child wanting more.
Former Hollyoaks actress Emma Rigby flits between awkward emotion and eye candy, put in revealing beachwear and made to pout as much as possible – something that just looks ridiculous for such a tense film. Sebastian De Souza provides much of the team’s innocence, though it often comes across as insufferable naivety. He is very smart and certainly confident enough to rob people, so a later change of direction doesn’t seem to fit.
There are moments of pure farce in PLASTIC which jar and break the momentum. That said, when it works, it manages to be very compelling and full of suspense and intrigue.
[usr=3] PLASTIC is released in UK cinemas on Wednesday 30th April, 2014.
