Copyright: Amazon MGM Studios
Written by Sean Merkel
Britain may not have the empire anymore, but at least they still have crime dramas. Sure, the days of Britannia ruling the waves are long gone, but if you want somewhere to set your gritty, action packed, thriller, you still can’t do better than the streets of London. Or so says Amazon in their newest release Steal, which launched on January 21. Created by Sotiris Nikias, the show follows mild-mannered investment analyst Zara Dunne (Sophie Turner, Game of Thrones) as she deals with the fallout of the heist of billions of pounds’ worth of pension funds from her company.
The show starts out strong. Our hero, Zara, has come into work at her job at Lochmill Capital, hungover and disengaged. She putters around the office, putting off her work for as long as possible until the door opens and heavily armed men come into her office, and make her a key fixture in their plan to steal £4 billion in pension funds. The heist is executed methodically, precisely, and echoes movies like Heat for its pacing and tension building. The cinematography is crisp and beautiful, and the sound design builds the tension well. However, the opening episode is, unfortunately, the best the show has to offer.
The rest of Steal follows the consequences of Zara’s actions as she gradually unravels a wide-ranging, and increasingly convoluted conspiracy affecting the highest levels of British society. However, the plan is so intricate and unwieldy that no one, not Zara, or the cops, or the thieves, or especially the audience, understands what exactly this is all for. This is stated multiple times by multiple different characters. “Why are we doing all this?” No spoilers, but the answer is a half-baked and shoehorned-in political message at the very last minute of the series.
The main plot of the series, though confusing, is entertaining enough to follow. It’s the rest of the show that makes it fall flat. It’s clear from the first time you read the title — which seems like the writers went with the first thought that came into their heads — that Steal could have used a little more polish. The script is weak. The dialogue in the show is stilted, heavy-handed and unrealistic. Characters are constantly blurting out their traits, motivations and desires to each other. These traits, motivations and desires also constantly change throughout the show.
The show’s pacing and perspective are all over the place, too. The third episode is a flashback to a setup that is only half needed, letting you know that — surprise — this show actually began in the middle of the story. In Media Res. The plot either drags along or races against itself, no in between. In a thriller, the audience can never know everything that’s going on, perspective should only change from a couple of certain main characters sparingly, and only when doing so further builds tension. Steal jumps perspective constantly, showing us Zara’s POV, then her friend Luke’s, then the criminals’, then the police’s. The result of this is that any moment that might naturally build tension is undercut by seeing it from the other side.
In Episode 3, Luke (Archie Madekwe, Gran Turismo) becomes progressively paranoid about being watched and tracked. The audience is left to wonder if these fears are justified for exactly three seconds before cutting to the two different parties surveilling him, and the one plotting to kidnap him.
There is a romance squeezed into the middle of the series that is promptly forgotten. The tension is often undercut by moving the focus to the opposite side of any interaction. A lot can be forgiven in the name of entertainment, and there are entertaining moments in the show, but Steal consistently undermines itself by shifting focus and being unsure of the speed at which it wants to go.
The London of Steal is an empty place. Massive glass windows show everything to the world, and somehow, no one sees or hears anything. Abductions, screaming, kidnappings, and shootouts happen in what should be in full view of an entire city. However, there are apparently only three witnesses to any kind of crime who show up in the first episode to think about calling the authorities during the heist scene and are never seen again. The rest of the crime, the very loud, very public crime, happens without anyone noticing. Facial recognition is brought up in the first episode, then discarded as an impossibility without any real explanation as to why. Building lobbies have one receptionist at most, and a person running down the streets will be completely ignored. It goes from being a directorial choice to an unbelievable contrivance of the show.
Steal is a bit of a mess, an entertaining mess, but a mess all the same. Amazon may have been able to shell out the money for good cameras and a little bit of star power, but the show’s flaws are hard to overlook. A rambling plot mixed with a script that does not believe in subtlety and underdeveloped characters. The show has its moments, but those moments come rarely enough that it doesn’t save the final product. All in all, Steal feels like a show made to play in the background for someone scrolling on their phone. There are times when you look up and pay attention, but for the most part, there’s something more interesting happening elsewhere.
