Payback Season (2012)

8% of critics liked it
(12 reviews)
43% want to see it
(45 ratings)

Hot shot Premiership footballer Jerome seems to have it all - a luxury flat, a fast car, any girl he wants, and a booming career. A vast contrast to the council estate life he left behind. Following a run-in with his old estate crew, his world is turned upside down as he gets caught up in the… More Hot shot Premiership footballer Jerome seems to have it all - a luxury flat, a fast car, any girl he wants, and a booming career. A vast contrast to the council estate life he left behind. Following a run-in with his old estate crew, his world is turned upside down as he gets caught up in the gangland ways his friends still pursue, and before long finds himself being blackmailed by the dealers, crooks and dropouts he used to hang around with. Adding to this is his younger brother Anton, who finds himself seduced by this attractive yet dangerous lifestyle. With no easy way out, Jerome must make some impossible decisions that will have an irreversible impact on his life and career forever.

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 31 min.
Directed By: Danny Donnelly
Written By: Jenny Fitzpatrick, Danny Donnelly
Genres: Drama

Critic Reviews

Mark Adams, Daily Mirror [UK]
A bit too heavyhanded as hoodies hit the football pitches.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
Nothing rings true, not even the tones on the characters' mobile phones.
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
Adam Deacon, winner of the Bafta Rising Star Award, explores the nightmarish condition of fame, starring as a Premiership footballer who finds himself used as a cashpoint by former homies, and having his privacy invaded by scandal-sniffing tabloids.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Poorly directed and often excruciating to watch, this is a painfully pedestrian British drama with a simplistic, finger-wagging script and an awkward central performance from BAFTA Rising Star Adam Deacon.
Alex Zane, Sun Online
Adam has talent, but he'll need superior material to maintain his rise.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
No amount of yoofsploitation grit could obscure the moral guidance in this story, making it a kids' film in spirit, if not certificate.
Ashley Clark, Little White Lies
Cynical fodder aimed squarely at perceived yoof demographic. Poor.
Tim Evans, Sky Movies
Debut director Danny Donnelly's thriller settles snugly alongside similar geezerish fare such as Kidulthood. Which is to say it isn't very good.
Guy Lodge, Time Out
Donnelly, better known for his work in the music industry, ensures there's enough juddering dubstep on the soundtrack to drown out his pedestrian dialogue.
Joel Cunningham, Empire Magazine
A blackmail thriller that's more non-league than Premiership.
Paul M. Bradshaw, Total Film
Favouring its relentless dubstep soundtrack over its characters, the film feels like more like background filler.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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