Smalltime Thief

Made for TV, Zonca's follow-up to Dream Life of Angels is a taut and insightful account of the steady, self-destructive slide into crime of a bakery assistant who, once fired, swears revenge on society. Pacy, grainy realism is the order of the day. Until the final 20 minutes, the film lacks the depth of its predecessor, but there's no denying the power of the acting (Duvauchelle's near-wordless lead turn is particularly impressive) or the authenticity of its observations. At first, it may seem as if Zonca is overly indulgent of the macho posturings of the hoodlums the protagonist falls in with, but with time it's clear there's no sentimentality here about 'thieves' honour' and the like. Bracingly tough.