LFF Review: Wasteland

Director: Rowan Athale

Cast: Luke Treadaway, Matthew Lewis, Timothy Spall, Iwan Rheon

Running Time: 106 minutes

Synopsis: Harvey Miller’s just got out of prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Now he’s seeking new opportunities, but first that involves getting back at the man who stitched him up – with help from a few old friends…

WASTELAND is a curious film. You’ve likely seen it before: a group of young, working-class males, out to get one over on someone who really deserves it by robbing them of their ill-deserved fortune. But WASTELAND manages to set itself apart from the genre while still being easily classified as a genre film (which is to say, it’s still a typical enough British heist thriller).

The film follows the escapades of ex-con Harvey Miller (Luke Treadaway) through the form of flashback. In the present day, Miller sits in a police interview room, opposite the ever-fantastic Timothy Spall as Detective Inspector West. He’s bloody, beaten and bruised. We don’t know why. We won’t know why until the film’s climactic moments – none of which I shall spoil for you – and until then it’s storytime. Huddle round, everyone: things are about to get interesting.

Or rather, things will get properly interesting in about 30 minutes. Until then we’re treated to a bit of slow exposition, though do not mistake this as criticism of writer/director Rowan Athale’s first venture – for while WASTELAND’s first 30 minutes start to drag, the payoff of the numerous story threads we’re exposed to is tremendous. To quote an old proverb, the candle that burns slowest, burns brightest.

It turns out Miller’s imprisonment was something of an injustice, having been the unwitting fall guy for a local drug runner, Steven Roper (Neil Maskell), and now he’s out to get revenge. But WASTELAND is more than a tale of petty vengeance; Miller and his friends – his brothers, to an extent (insofar as their sibling-like relationship) – intend to use the cash they steal from Roper to set up a business and make a life for themselves abroad. This isn’t perhaps the most unique aspect of WASTELAND; instead, it’s the solid grounding of the four leads.

Treadaway is joined by Matthew Lewis (of HARRY POTTER fame), Iwan Rheon (of MISFITS fame) and Gerard Kearns (of SHAMELESS fame). Indeed, it’s Treadaway who’s possibly the least well-known of the quartet, so it’s a bold move by Athale to place him in the spotlight. But it also works tremendously, for each member of the group has his part to play – of doubts, of loyalty and of support – and each does it succinctly within the space they are given. It’s clear from watching it just how well cast WASTELAND is: none of the four leads would have performed any better in alternated roles, instead each playing to their own strengths.

And it’s these strengths which provide the most obvious manner of separation from similar heist films for WASTELAND. It’s a separation aided only further by the film’s milieu; WASTELAND abandons everyone’s favourite prototypical British city for the grim north – or more specifically, this writer’s neighbouring town, Leeds. So trust me when I say I know how much Yorkshire benefits the film. The camaraderie between the four leads; the sense of loyalty that imbues their relationship and defines the tone of the film – another factor that helps set it apart from similar efforts – is far more convincing simply due to the locale.

Think about it: when was the last time you spoke to a stranger on the tube home? The north is pretty much the friendliest place in Britain. And that’s definitely not a biased opinion. Anyway, this sense of loyalty is bolstered heavily by the film’s final act, cementing the belief that while it’s grim up north, at least us northerners stick together. And again, we find ourselves at another sticking point of WASTELAND: its brave climax. The boys plan to rob a local Working Men’s Club where Roper stashes his cash, but obviously things go a bit awry – or so Miller tells DI West.

But just when you think everything’s starting to wrap itself up into a neat little package, along comes the final twist of WASTELAND. It’s a stroke of scripting brilliance by Athale, and one which I daren’t say any more about in case I spoil it all here and now. Suffice to say, WASTELAND’s final 10 minutes alone make it worth watching; make it unpredictable and different. And the journey gives it more still, with four capable and competent leads holding things together.

If you only watch one British heist film this year, it has to be WASTELAND. And I’m not just saying that because it’s set in Yorkshire. (Well, maybe a little bit.)

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