"“We are taken on a riveting tale that keeps us guessing throughout, while certainly holding down your attention as you anticipate the big, climatic finale...”"

In Rowan Athale's debut production The Rise (pka Wasteland), there are certainly comparisons to be made to Guy Ritchie's classic Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; in that it's a stylish thriller of four friends preparing for a seemingly unworkable heist, in a film that feels like the movie that Ritchie has been desperately attempting to make ever since Snatch, well over a decade ago.

We start with Harvey (Luke Treadaway) – evidently on the receiving end of quite a beating, and in custody – as it appears his adversary is in an even weaker state, as the youngster, who has just served a prison sentence for drug dealing, recounts his tale of how he came to be in such a position, to the patient D I West (Timothy Spall).

It turns out that Harvey had been framed leading to his initial arrest by the intimidating local crime lord Steven Roper (Neil Maskell), so alongside his three best friends Dempsey (Iwan Rheon), Dodd (Matthew Lewis) and Charlie (Gerard Kearns), he seeks revenge on the man who landed him in prison, wanting to formulate an ambitious robbery of Roper's stash in the basement of a heavily guarded night club – with the intention of fleeing Britain and startling afresh in Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Harvey has issues on the home front, reconnecting with his ex-fiancé Nicola (Vanessa Kirby).

The Rise is one of those features that requires a suspension of disbelief, in what is a thriller that can be accused of style over substance. However, although the dialogue may be too slick and unnatural, it just works. I mean, take Quentin Tarantino and Ritchie for that matter – people don't actually talk as swiftly and smoothly as they do in their films, but when it's done well it enhances the cinematic experience, making it easy to indulge in and enjoy; albeit taking away the realism from the feature.

Due to such an approach taken by Athale, The Rise does come across as being a little too clever, with a complex narrative and an inclination to always do exactly what you weren't expecting it to do. However it does make for an intriguing degree of unpredictability, even if it does come across as being somewhat contrived. There are plot holes and aspects to this story that certainly do appear to come together far too forcefully and relatively easily at times.

However, The Rise is a thriller, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. A whodunnit of sorts, we are taken on a riveting tale that keeps us guessing throughout, while certainly holding down your attention as you anticipate the big, climatic finale. It is generally rather easy to ignore the frustrating inconsistencies and the somewhat convoluted idea, as they are ultimately irrelevant in a film that  does what you hope for it to do – compel you with an intelligent, gripping story that is easy to adhere to and enjoy. Job done.

The problem is, if you don't eat into Athale's hands and let yourself get drawn into this story you may just leave with a bitter, jarred frame of mine. So, my advice is to let yourself get drawn in and taken away by this tense and exciting story. It's better that way.