Directed by Nick Rowland – Starring Taron Egerton and Ana Sophia Heger

A recently released ex-con goes on the run with his young daughter after their family becomes the target of a violent gang.

This was a pleasant surprise.

From the opening scenes, the movie does a good job establishing a sense of danger. There’s a constant feeling that something bad could happen at any moment, and that tension carries through most of the film.

At its core, though, this isn’t really a gangland crime story. It’s a wolf-and-cub story about a father and daughter who barely know each other being forced to rely on one another to survive.

Taron Egerton is very good here, which isn’t exactly surprising anymore. He’s quietly become one of those actors who almost never disappoints. He does a nice job walking a difficult line. Nate is dangerous, damaged, and capable of violence, but there’s also a vulnerability underneath it all that keeps him from becoming a cliché.

The real discovery is Ana Sophia Heger. A lot of movies live or die based on whether the child performance works, and she absolutely delivers. She brings a surprising amount of subtlety to the role and gives Polly a resilience that makes her feel like a real person rather than a plot device.

The film occasionally gets a little shaky as it tries to bring everything together in the final act, but the relationship at the center of the story is strong enough that I stayed invested.

And while the ending was a little wonky, the final scene was perfection.

A tense, heartfelt thriller that works because it never loses sight of the people at the center of it.

Verdict: Engaging