DUBAI: Like former castmate Kit Harrington, a thriller set in London’s financial district might be the show that means Sophie Turner will at last be known for something other than “Game of Thrones.”
Turner is the highlight of this clever, entertaining six-parter from Amazon in which she plays Zara Dunne, a trade processor (lowly drone) at UK pension management company Lochmill Capital.
As she demonstrates when showing round new girl Myrtle, Zara is aware how dull her job is. She alleviates that boredom by partying hard with her fellow drone Luke at the weekends.
Things are about to get a lot more exciting for everyone at Lochmill, however. Just as Zara’s running Myrtle through the drone work, a very professional armed gang enter the office and — after demonstrating they mean business by clubbing an employee senseless — demand that a specific set of trades worth £4bn be made. That requires a couple of trade processors — Zara and Luke. When Luke panics, Zara’s cool head saves the day, and she’s credited with keeping her fellow employees alive. The gang get what they want and leave, just minutes before the police arrive.
Of course, (minor spoilers ahead), all is not as it seems. By the end of the first episode, in the first of many twists — a few glaringly obvious, it should be noted — we’ve learned that Zara and Luke were actually in cahoots with the gang (though unaware of their exact plans), and have each received a considerable payoff (much more than they were promised, mysteriously). It also turns out the gang themselves aren’t 100 percent up to speed on the plan. It was all conceived by a shadowy figure higher up — someone who must clearly be very rich and very knowledgeable about the financial industry.
There follows a twisty tale of back-stabbing, double-dealing, lying and murder, but one that’s also subtly layered with commentary on the dangers of wealth and greed.
Turner’s performance is crucial, and she’s a compelling mix of anger, determination, panic and intelligence, managing to elicit support for a character who, on the surface, should be regarded as a villain.
The remorseless pace wisely means there’s little time to dwell on the weak points, so “Steal” ends up an enjoyably frantic thriller with much to recommend it.
