Sophie Turner shines in this terrific (and surprising) new thriller

Steal ★★★★

This British crime thriller starts with Die Hard vibes but, like the armed criminals who take over the London office of a pension fund manager in the opening sequence, it moves in decisive and unexpected ways.

Emotionally taut and tinged with desperation, Steal never forgets the harsh personal truths that are uncovered in its twisty plot. There are all kinds of revelations, especially for the terrified transaction clerks – Zara (Sophie Turner) and Luke (Archie Madekwe) – made to send $8 billion into the ether.

That 21st century armed robbery is just the first salvo of a limited series that feels plugged into today’s world in telling, unexpected ways. Creator Sotiris Nikias, who is now a major talent to watch, draws together inequality’s menace and personal disaffection. If everything is rigged against the ordinary person, it asks, why bother obeying the rules? The robbery’s aftermath, as the Metropolitan Police’s Rhys Kovaci (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) leads the investigation and MI5 hovers, is when the show becomes genuinely gripping.

Zara and Luke are underpaid workers thrust into the spotlight. Suspicion surrounds them even as they’re dealing with gun-to-the-head trauma. Luke starts cracking, but Zara, whose life has lacked for purposes, becomes motivated. Fear makes her realise that she doesn’t want to stay in her lane of work drudgery and getting wasted every weekend.

“It’s a very dangerous combination: intelligence and frustration,” notes her estranged, uncaring mother Haley (Anastasia Hille). The acid leached off their encounter lingers, seeping into Zara’s increasingly desperate actions.

With Martin Phipps’ electronic score jangling nerves, Steal gets the basics right. Need a splenetic billionaire to sum up the arrogance of the 1 per cent? Here’s Peter Mullan (Ozark). Want a terrifying casual explainer on how the intelligence services can disappear you? Leave it to Anna Maxwell Martin (Line of Duty).

For the most part, the story is a step ahead of expectations, but the disclosures have a psychological heft and a social critique. With money as the just out-of-reach reward, betrayal becomes the norm. When characters start referencing millions, there’s a hunger that’s disorientating.

This is ideal ground for Turner, whose Game of Thrones arc as Sansa Stark was one of shedding comforting myths as a means of steely survival. She’s exceptionally good at revealing Zara’s failing comfort mechanisms and what, for better or worse, lies beneath them. The character is neither a heroine nor a cold professional – in trying to make sense of what happened she makes potentially fatal mistakes. Zara has to survive herself, let alone the various forces arrayed around her.

This is a pawn’s gambit, and it’s a terrific watch.

Steal is streaming on Amazon Prime now.

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