Mike Lowery
An effective mix of Guy Ritchie’s greatest hits and Inside Man, the admirable new Brit crime thriller The Pay Day serves as another timely reminder that good, solid films can be made on fiscally friendly budgets.
Headlined by a relatively unknown cast, but with seasoned character player Simon Callow popping in to help bump up that credit block’s appeal, director Sam Bradford’s pic fixes on a disillusioned I.T worker (a wonderful Kyle Frye, especially good when sharing scenes with co-star Samuel Benjamin) who accepts an offer to make a large stash of money to pull off a heist.
Despite its limited budget and slightly messy script (it gets a little too bogged down in later moments, for one and could do with a couple more surprises here and there), transfixing performances by Benjamin and Frye, an interesting set of characters make The Pay Day a far more successful outing than its minor script and pacing issues initially suggest. Keep an eye on Bradford and Benjamin, in particular, in the future.
