Screenwriter Paul Abbott, the man behind ‘Shameless’ and ‘State of Play’ is, co-writer of Twenty8k which follows Deeva Jani, a Paris-based fashion executive, who is obliged to return to London after hearing the news that her brother Vipen, has been arrested on a murder charge due to a fatal shooting outside a nightclub in the east of the City.
Deeva is played by Parminder Nagra who is still best known to many as the teenage soccer-mad star of Bend It Like Beckham. She is surrounded by a strong supporting cast including Kaya Scodelario, Michael Socha, Stephen Dillane, Kierston Wareing, Nichola Burley and Greg Chillin.
Her conviction that he’s been framed prompts her to conduct a private investigation that leads to the exposure of a criminal conspiracy to exploit the rejuvenation of east London during the build-up to the 2012 Olympics.
Involved are bent cops, the underworld, and what Sherlock Holmes would have called “the highest in the land, Watson”. It’s largely a reworking of The Long Good Friday, the title is that of the brother’s street gang, and the heroine gathers her evidence with the ease of a child following a trail of artlessly hidden sweets.
One expected more from the transformation for Shameless writers Paul Abbott and Jimmy Dowdall from TV screen to big screen. This unexceptional east London thriller fails to set the screen a light but does showcase some exceptional up-and-coming British acting talent.
Twenty8K is out on DVD now