Bluff

There’s a lot of Donnie Brasco in Bluff as Det Sergeant Daniel Miller (Gurj Gill) goes under deep cover (the film’s title comes from the fact that if anything goes wrong during the operation he’ll have no support and will have to bluff his way out) to uncover drug dealers and the major players in the operation.

To achieve this he has to develop a character and start at the bottom. The bottom being Cooks (Jason Adam) a junky passing his day on street benches swigging cheap booze, getting enough money together to fuel his habit then collapse into a sordid heap under in a derelict area of the city.

So it’s no real surprise that he’s charmed by Daniel’s shabby chic look, and cock and bull story about moving away from London, into a flat funded by his savings. He also needs to score quickly bypassing the usual contacts and going straight for the top man Imran (Nisaro Karim).

That’s the guidance that he’s been given by his handler Collins (James Jaysen Bryhan) until he becomes too close to his prey and they decide to pull him out, though it isn’t quite that simple with revelations complicating matters.

There’s the kernel of a good solid, if not original, police undercover story here that gets dragged about by the shifting timelines between Daniel’s early days and his adoption by Imran, and his growing friendship with the desperate but harmless Cooks. This isn’t helped a synth score which drones away in the background. The script is cliched and the staid pace makes its lengthy running difficult.

That said in trying to establish a character study of Cooks, Imran and Daniel, debut writer and director Sheikh Shahnawaz has more success with various actions having consequences that force Daniel to look at himself and his actions.

Nevertheless it is Adams as Crooks that will stay in the mind; a generally good man trapped in a hideous situation.

Bluff is available on digital platforms.