Adroitly written and directed by South African filmmaker Donovan Marsh, this action-packed heist thriller — about a pair of cops battling corrupt colleagues as well as a gang of armoured-car thieves — boasts an oddball cast that brings comic relief to the ruthless thuggery.
Chili (S'dumo Mtshali) and Shoes (Presley Chweneyagae) have been partners in the police force for eight years. After they make a risky arrest, their corrupt superior refuses to give them the reward they are due. Enraged, Chili realizes that virtue does not pay and sets about infiltrating a gang of armoured car thieves. His scheme goes awry when the rest of the gang finds out his true identity. They take Shoes hostage and go through with the heist. Lured by the potential loot, but finding himself in the midst of a killing spree, Chili has to shake off his rage and cynicism to do the right thing.
Adroitly written, adeptly directed, and tightly edited by South African filmmaker Donovan Marsh, iNumber Number is an action-packed thriller peopled with oddball gangsters that bring comic relief to the ruthless thuggery. His actors are singularly praiseworthy; Chweneyagae appeared in the hit film Tsotsi, and Israel Makoe, Owen Sejake, Warren Masemola, Hlubi Mboya, Percy Matsemela, and Carlo Radebe are well known to South African television and theatre audiences. Mtshali actually rose to fame after winning a TV talent competition, Class Act. The punch of the actors' dialogue and acuity of their performances was thoroughly workshopped with the director, and it shows.
A remarkable accomplishment, iNumber Number is an independently produced, low-budget work that promises to leave its mark on a South African film industry whose appetite for the heist genre seems insatiable.
RASHA SALTI
Screenings
Scotiabank 6
Scotiabank 5
Scotiabank 2
Scotiabank 4
Scotiabank 13