‘Culprits’ is a slick heist thriller with a killer mystery

Three years ago, Joe was part of London’s biggest heist. Now someone is killing his partners, and he needs to know why before he’s next.

A man with dreadlocks in a top with a barbed wire pattern stares ahead, slightly downward.

Can Joe (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) survive his past? Credit: Des Willie / Disney

Anyone who’s ever seen a heist movie knows the real trouble doesn’t start until after you’ve gotten away with the goods. Before you do the deed, there’s nothing to fight over. Afterwards? A bunch of violent armed robbers are now holding onto exactly the kind of valuables that violent armed robbers like to steal. How long do you have to wait until you can let your guard down?

For Joe (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), the big heist was three years and a long-forgotten life ago. Once he was a violent enforcer; now he’s living in small town US with a partner (Kevin Vidal), two step kids, and big plans to open a fancy bistro. He’s finally started to relax. Big mistake.

A man with dreadlocks in a green shirt and check jacket walks in front of a building, with a young girl on one side and another younger child holding his hand on the other.

Things seem settled for Joe (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), but that's all about to change. Credit: Des Willie / Disney

It’s bad enough that while he’s moving his body-sized bag of cash from one hiding spot to another, he gets involved in a hit-and-not-quite-run car accident that threatens to bring the police sniffing around. But somewhere out there a killer wearing a creepy blank-faced mask is tracking down and killing the members of his former crime crew one by one.

We know the heist seems to have worked out, for Joe at least (the big bag of cash, remember?). But what exactly happened during the heist to put a killer on his trail? Has one of their own turned on them, or have the people they stole from finally tracked them down?

A woman is an elegant pants-and-shirt set with long pinkish coat sits on a chair in front of a car. She holds a gun in one gloved hand.

Dianne (Gemma Arterton). Credit: Des Willie / Disney

Culprits is split into three easy-to-follow time-lines, with a handy on-screen caption every time we jump from one period to the other. BEFORE is before the heist, when the extremely polished and stiletto-sharp Dianne Harewood (Gemma Arterton) is putting together a crack team to help steal 30 million pounds from a London vault, stashed there by a bunch of secretive fat cats who deserve to have their pockets picked. And Joe – back then, known as David – is at the top of her list.

As is always the way, everyone gets cool code names, like Greaseman and Fixer; Specialist (Niamh Algar) is renamed Psycho by the crew. Dianne gives Joe / David the new name of Muscle, for reasons which rapidly become clear. You’d think being an obvious hard man amongst a bunch of drivers and safe crackers and medics would make him one of the more dangerous members of the surprisingly large team. But there’s more than one other member with a nasty streak, and it’s not like you can trust the quiet ones either.

A womain in a long-sleeved white top leans against a tiled corner. She holds a gun in one hand. The lighting is dark and reddish, lending an eery tone to the scene.

'Specialist' (Niamh Algar). Credit: Des Willie / Disney

THEN is during the heist, which turns out to be both very big and very violent. Culprits is a slick, stylised series where the budget is right up there on the screen. The flashy action sequences are full of swooping camerawork and spurting blood. They’re big, loud, and (sometimes literally) explosive. This is definitely not the kind of heist where they quietly slip a note across to a bank teller while poking a finger at them from inside a coat pocket.

Culprits knows that the secret to a good heist drama is putting a fresh spin on some old favourites. Reservoir Dogs-style messing around with the timeline of events is only the beginning here. There’s no shortage of “things are not what they seem” twists, and the mechanics of exactly how the heist is going to go (along with the thrill of seeing the heisters have to improvise when things don’t go to plan) are as satisfying as always. If you’re looking for the kind of robbery action that involves people in garish masks firing very noisy automatic weapons on city streets, look no further.

A man in dark combat gear and a black half mask stands in a building. A woman in white protective hear and a white mask stands to one side behind him.

'Culprits' moves between three timelines. Credit: Des Willie / Disney

NOW is where the real trouble begins. Joe’s only hope of getting out of all this alive is to head back to London and try to put the old team together, a job that’s a lot easier said than done. The killer on their trail will stop at nothing to get what he wants, and nothing – not even family – is off limits. Which is a problem for Joe, because since the heist he’s found one, and now it’s not just his own life he’s got to protect.

Culprits delivers all the thrills and excitement of a well-constructed heist (and more star talent, with a turn by Suzy Eddie Izzard), but it’s the mystery that keeps things moving across the eight episodes. There’s a long list of suspects for the masked killer, and more than a few twists along the way. If Joe has a flaw, it’s that he’s a little too trusting; trusting Dianne to make him rich might have been the biggest mistake of them all.

Culprits is streaming now at SBS On Demand.