Honour Among Thieves

A group of criminals plan to steal money from local drug dealers.

Tired of working an unwanted job, small-time crook Alex (Ruffin) dreams of starting a new life far away from the city that she lives in. After spending time doing illegal activities with Daniel (Tatomir), two former associates of hers, Lucas (Austin) and Dante (Jennings), who had been away for a while, contact her and try to persuade her to do one last thing together that will set them up for life: snatch drug money from unknown lawbreakers.

On the surface, this lengthy feature is another crime drama film noir. There are many elements here that are often seen in the crime genre, including dangerous criminals, guns, life-threatening situations and people getting killed. The screenplay effectively explores the lives of criminals, the dangers they face and the consequences of living a life of crime and a large part of the story concentrates on the planning of the heist. However, it is not all about dark subjects, as the plot also deals with the significance of friendship, loyalty and the desire to move on to better things. The lives of the main characters are well-explored and so are the relationships they have with each other, particularly the ones Alex has with Lucas and Daniel.

As the main protagonist, Ruffin gives a decent performance as an outlaw who wants a normal life and does not want anyone to get hurt. Her three accomplices, Lucas, Dante and a corrupt policeman, share her point of view and these four characters, along with Daniel's close associate Gabriel (Noble El), they are presented as individuals who are against violence and wish to start a new life somewhere else without crime. Daniel is the character who represents the darkest side of being a criminal, as he is willing to resort to violence in order to have his own way. Generally, the acting is not very good, however that does not ruin the movie.

The decision to film in black-and-white is interesting and the result creates a downbeat atmosphere. Jennings also worked on the editing and makes effective use of dissolve techniques. Taylor Batory does a good contribution with the score and the soundtrack includes songs from various artists.

There are issues with the running time. With a duration of two hours and twenty minutes, the film feels overlong, nevertheless, it is still a watchable feature, with an intriguing plot, interesting characters and well-written dialogue. Fans of the gangster genre should give this one a go.