Dark gripping thriller with Love/Hate and Kin star available to stream now

This underrated thriller deserves a bigger audience.

First released in 2014, the neo-noir thriller drama sees the Irish actor play Tom Carver, a divorced photographer in London grieving the loss of his teenage son, who was killed a year previously in a hit-and-run accident.

Amidst indulging in alcohol and drugs to cope with his child's death, he accepts a job from a local school to photograph its students for yearbooks.

There, Tom forms a connection with Jimmy (Joseph Duffy), a young boy interested in photography whose brother was recently murdered by a local gang of teens.

As the pair bond over their shared loss, their friendship sparks the ire of the killer gang, who believe Jimmy might reveal to Tom what they did.

With the dangerous youths' attacks on both Jimmy and Tom escalating, the latter feels forced to take the law into his own hands.

Still was the feature debut of writer-director Simon Blake, who recently reteamed with Gillen again on an upcoming film titled Black Noise.

Alongside Duffy and Gillen, the cast of the 2014 movie includes Amanda Mealing (Casualty), Élodie Yung (Daredevil), Jonathan Slinger (A Knight's Tale), Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead) and Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso).

Made on a low budget, Still is an indie film that punches above its weight.

With Gillen in the lead role, the more character-driven, slow-burn first half of the movie compels. The Irish actor's portrayal of an ordinary, flawed person in deep pain who doesn't quite realise just how much he is spiralling out of control is believable and haunting.

All the while, director Blake turns Still's presumed lack of budgetary resources into a strength. What transpires in its story feels all the more real, visceral and gripping because there is no Hollywood polish.

As the movie continues, it gradually evolves into a revenge thriller, eventually culminating in a tense-as-hell climax with some major revelations. These not only deepen the story and its themes, but cleverly recontextualise everything that came before in the narrative.

It's worth noting, however, that Still is quite dark. We'd compare it in tone to similar British/Irish gritty revenge thrillers like Against the Wolves, Bring Them Down, Bull and Dead Man's Shoes.

So, if you are seeking out something feel-good, we recommend you look elsewhere.

Still is available to watch for free on the ad-supported streaming service, Plex.