by Shane Conto, Staff Writer
What does a cop thriller need to do to stand out these days? Audiences have seen decades of film focusing on the police and their duties and probably have seen it all. Big drug busts, hunting killers, and even taking their job undercover. Donnie Brasco and The Departed are just a pair of American films from the past 25 years that have captured the dangers and tension of such an arrangement. But writer-director Sheikh Shahnawaz has taken on this concept with the dangerous exploits of Detective Sergeant Daniel Miller as he takes on an undercover case and a horrible vice to match it with Bluff.
How does Shahnawaz make his cop drama stand out in the pack? From a directing standpoint, there are not a lot of visual elements that necessarily stand out. This is a well-shot film, impressively on a tight budget. It does have a bit of that British television feel, which is not something that will tank your experience per se. But what Shahnawaz maximizes is the tension in this story. The film feels a bit long with its almost two-hour runtime, but when the tension is high, you can really feel it. This kind of story is full of moments that will have plenty of tension and luckily the director is able to bring that tension to fruition.
But what about the screenplay? Is Shahnawaz able to find the elements in this story to make it stand out amongst some of the more famous films in the genre? Bluff is, for the most part, your standard affair in the realm of undercover cop stories. Our lead character, Miller (or Danny, as he goes by in his ventures, played by Gurj Gill). is a man committed to his mission. But his morals waver over the course of this mission. He takes advantage of Cooks (Jason Aadm), a young addict who becomes his right hand, and whose story becomes quite tragic before everything is said and done. He develops a connection with his drug dealer, which is not completely unique when you have films like this. But worst of all, he develops a need for the product. All these elements lead to a third act, which lean heavily into tropes and cliché narrative beats, and which becomes increasingly more interesting than the first two.
Do the actors in the film bring some extra life to the story? Gill has plenty of elements to work with, and he shines. He is confident with the façade he must put on, but when danger becomes more real, you can see the gears turning in Gill, and the adjustments he makes as an actor elevate the scenes (along with the tense direction). Adam offers up plenty in his role as the drug addicted, but good at heart, Cooks. The audience feels for him and the manipulation that Miller uses on him. We see him at rock bottom, and Adam does a great job offering up plenty of vulnerability to be seen on screen.
Does Shahnawaz accomplish the tough task of making a unique cop drama in 2022? Not quite. But what he does accomplish is making a suspenseful and engaging drama with solid direction and strong acting. If this is your type of film, this one will certainly deliver for you. It might not get new converts for the genre, but it will offer enough to engage its audience.
Score: 6/10
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