Comes a Bright Day

Debut British films tend to be either shouty gangland thrillers or romantic coming-of-age tales, so points to writer-director Simon Aboud for fusing the two with this offbeat heist drama. Sadly, that’s where the surprises stop: ‘Comes a Bright Day’ is pretty but predictable, and goes precisely nowhere. Craig Roberts is just as creepy and unsettling here as in ‘Submarine’. He plays an ambitious bellboy who stumbles into the middle of a robbery at a local jewellers staffed by crotchety Timothy Spall and winsome Imogen Poots. Held at gunpoint by stuttering psycho Kevin McKidd and wounded sidekick Josef Altin, the three victims find they have more in common than they thought. Aboud has a strong visual sense – the framing is precise, the colours rich – but with a threadbare, episodic plot, thin characters and uninspired dialogue, this soon outstays its welcome.