'Steal' Web-Series Review: Sophie Turner shines in a an enjoyable heist thriller that needed more gravitas

Cast: Sophie Turner, Archie Madekwe, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd 

Director: Sam Miller, Hettie Macdonald

Language: English

It is always fascinating to see ordinary people challenged by extraordinary circumstances. And if you weave a thriller around it, that’s nothing but a delicious cherry on the delicious cake. And that is exactly what can be said about the new web series in town which is called Steal. It is spearheaded by Sophie Turner. Her exclusive interview with Firstpost surfaced online recently. She spoke about her fondness for Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. There is a reason why we are bringing the two Bollywood superstars in this review.

_Steal_ is about something which has been described as the heist of the century. And SRK and Deepika Padukone participated in at least two of them- Happy New Year and _Pathaan_. Little did we anticipate that this is how we will connect the dots.

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When we first meet Sophie Turner who plays the character of Zara, she’s one of the people you always encounter in a crowd, trying to make ends meet and bogged down by the monotony of their lives. Think of Ranbir Kapoor from Tamasha or Brad Pitt from Meet Joe Black. And then a miracle happens. In this web-series, the miracle happens in the form of as we mentioned above- The heist of the century. The background music and cinematography add a lot of tension to the narrative. It is pacy and pulsing. And the leading lady is having the time of her life playing this character. Giving her company is her wonderful costar Archie Madekwe. There is a fantastic line in the show which goes like this- The trick of the job is not to die of boredom. And boom! We have some uninvited guests in the office.

This is a show that talks about the largest robbery in British history. More than 4 billion pounds are stolen. The antagonists of the story truly mean business. Zara as a character has been described as a combination of intelligence and frustration. The robbers were wearing prosthetics, so there is absolutely no use of facial recognition. And the clock is ticking on the police. Just like any Masala movie, Steal, as a series, knows how to keep it audiences hooked. No price in guessing who the best person is to do the job. But it is not as easy as it seems. This is a show that wants to cater to the lowest common denominator, but also keep the intelligence of the viewers in mind.

The action is nothing that you may not have seen before. They have steered clear of violence and barbarism to maybe cater to a wider group, but I wish Steal went completely bonkers at some places and didn’t hold its horses. And this especially when we have been told that this is the height of the century. The recent thriller The Housemaid may have fumbled in the climax, but it nailed its visceral energy. Steal needed more of such repulsive moments that could have made it more rousing. But the tension in the narrative is able to camouflage the flaws. And at the heart of the story is an ordinary woman. Zara brims with ordinariness but can also possess balls of steel when she’s challenged by overwhelming forces.

One thing that needs to be appreciated is how Hollywood is making survival thrillers of late. The Long Walk, The Housemaid, Together, and now Steal. It may not be unapologetic in its telling but still happens to be better than a lot of content that reeks of pretentiousness. It’s far from being a clutter breaker, but still manages to entertain you. You may not be able to remember it for long, but Sophie Turner will be able to seduce you to be believing that she is capable of doing just about anything and everything. She’s likely to steal your attention from the flaws in the story. And that should be more than enough.

Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)

Steal is now streaming on Prime Video