Steal; The Secret of Me; 24 Hours In Police Custody Investigates

“The trick, Zara Dunne tells her new underling as she shows her round the trades processing floor of the pension management company for which they both now work, is not to dwell on the fact that every day that passes is another day wasted. And to know where the nice biscuits are. This is very good advice for any twentysomething starting their first job, but especially one called Myrtle, as this one is, whom I imagine has already had much of the stuffing knocked out of her by her peers’ reactions to this odd parental choice of moniker. Soon, however, they are all in need of substantially more comfort than even a chocolate Hobnob can provide, as a team of armed villains swarms the floor. From there, the glossy new six-part thriller Steal kicks into high gear and doesn’t let up for a moment.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Prime Video’s Steal will inevitably draw comparisons to Industry – it’s set in London’s banking district and follows apathetic young adults taking big swings with unimaginable sums of money. That it never quite ascends to those giddy heights doesn’t mean Steal isn’t a triumph in its own right; in fact, its decidedly action-thriller energy allows it to sidestep Industry’s long shadow altogether. Balancing intersecting “teams” and their motives, from the criminal gang and the police tracking them to MI5, Steal is not only cleverly plotted but supremely fun. Best of all for someone with a limited appetite for action-with-a-capital-A, the script leaves plenty of room for emotional storytelling alongside its white-knuckle careening.”
Emily Watkins, The i

“The story sags a little during the scenes involving the police investigation or the involvement of MI5, but when either [Sophie] Turner or [Archie] Madekwe are on screen the tension levels rack up again as they scrabble to stay alive. Turner will be seen later this year as Lara Croft in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s update of Tomb Raider, and on this evidence she’ll make a worthy action heroine.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph 

“There is so much to unpack from this film, not least the perspective it offered on the perennial debate of nature versus nurture. [John] Money’s intransigent views on one’s gender being “learnt” at an early age were largely based on his research on two male baby twins, one of whom was raised as a girl. Notoriously, that case ended tragically, with both twins killing themselves. But Jim’s story alone presented as evidence that one’s gender is hardwired. Ultimately, this film was an exposé, with a streak of activism, publicising how surgical interventions on infants are still happening. It’s a thorny, complex issue. By the end of all this, the closing statement that “some of these children have never been told the truth” was disturbing enough to make you gasp out loud.
James Jackson, The Times

“Ambrose is understandably traumatised by his experiences and rightly contemptuous of Money. He refers to his surgery as “mutilation”. His parents, in an archive interview, spoke of Jim’s anger towards them. He retorts: “You cut my genitals off! What did you think was going to happen? Why didn’t you tell me this?” His resentment and rage are still very much in evidence. But Ambrose escaped David Reimer’s fate and found salvation by moving to San Francisco, being accepted into the queer community and connecting with other people in his situation; he has channelled his fury into activism. The viewer will feel tremendous sympathy for him, but I also felt some towards his parents, who put their trust in the doctors and were doing what they thought was best.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

“What I want to know is, how can a consignment of more than 35,000 zombie knives with jagged blades come into the UK from China - and customs officers don’t see a thing? In the opening shots of the hour–long documentary 24 Hours In Police Custody Investigates: Zombie Knives, a drone camera followed an articulated lorry to a police warehouse. On the flatbed were half-a-dozen pallets piled high with crates of huge knives. Officers methodically laid the individual weapons out in rows, covering the entire floorspace, like Stacey Solomon’s Sort Your Life Out with machetes instead of children’s toys.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail