Shifty is a debut feature from Writer/Director Eran Creevy. Set in the outskirts of London, it charts the relationship between two friends: Chris, who is returning for a visit to his old neighbourhood after four years living away, and Shifty, the charismatic young drug dealer.
Classification Issues
- Language
- There is infrequent use of very strong language ('c**t') and frequent use of strong language ('f**k').
- Drugs
- Frequent scenes of drug use include characters snorting cocaine, smoking crack pipes, a scene of implied heroin injection and several instances of marijuana smoking. The work as a whole does not condone or promote drug use.
- Additional issues
- Scenes of violence are infrequent, and do not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury.
- Scenes of violence are infrequent, and do not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury.
Classification history
Shifty was submitted for classification in January 2009. Like other contemporary urban dramas of the time – Bullet Boy and the Kidulthood films for example – Shifty deals with the issues of drugs and violence, albeit in a more mundane suburban environment.
The distributor requested a 15 but the film required cuts to achieve that as it contained several aggressive uses of very strong language. At the time, the BBFC’s Classification Guidelines on language at 15 stated that ‘The strongest terms (for example ‘c**t’) may be acceptable if justified by context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be unacceptable’. In one scene, protecting Shifty and finally settling an old score, Chris violently attacks the drug dealer Glen, head-butting him, kicking him and punching him several times in the face. As he does this he repeatedly uses very strong language.
Clearly, in combination with the violent action, these were aggressive uses of the strongest language and so, in order for the film to receive a 15 certificate, needed to be removed. In the final edit of the film these uses are no longer audible, either cut completely or masked by the sounds of the fight.
There are, however, still four uses of very strong language in Shifty. The first three of these are variously benign, comic or muttered, and so were considered contextually justified at 15. The fourth remaining use still has an aggressive edge to it – occurring during a scene in which one of Shifty’s customers attacks Shifty and holds a knife to his face. As he does so, he hisses at Shifty: 'Be still, c**t'. Ultimately, it was decided this could remain because the use was considered more of a warning than violently aggressive and once again, therefore, justified by context at 15.
The BBFC’s Guidelines are theproduct of extensive research and public consultation. Research shows theBritish public find ‘c**t’ to be an extremely offensive term and are particularly concerned about its use in an aggressive or violent context.
The UK public also tell us they find discriminatory language increasingly offensive and Shifty also contains several derogatory uses of the word ‘P**i’. However, the characters which refer to Shifty or his family in that manner are depicted as either ignorant or as having misplaced their sense of right and wrong through drug addiction. With BBFC Guidelines at the time of the film’s classification also stating that ‘The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour’, the term was also considered appropriately contained by the 15 certificate.
Shifty also contains strong violence. This includes realistic scenes such as the fight mentioned above, a very strong beating, and a scene where an addict cuts Shifty with a knife. Whilst all of these are undoubtedly strong – realistic violence is nearly always more impactful than the sort of fantastical violence you might find in a Hollywood blockbuster – they are filmed and edited in a subtle way that masks most of the blows. The strength of the violence is more implied, with an emphasis on the faces of the aggressors and their movements as they prepare to attack, rather than actual detail of the violence. BBFC Guidelines at the time stated that ‘Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain and injury’. Accordingly, these scenes were not considered to be inappropriate for older teenagers.
Examiners involved in the film’s classification also considered its depiction of drug dealing and scenes of hard drug use. We see, for example, heroin, cocaine and crack all being prepared and snorted, as well as scenes in which Shifty and Chris smoke cannabis. However, the treatment is complex. For example, Shifty is a drug dealer and whilst he remains a likeable character his life is clearly in a mess and Chris is depicted as strongly disapproving of his friend’s profession. Indeed, we learn that he used to sell unspecified pills but that a close female friend died the first time he gave her one. All the other characters involved with drugs in the film are also portrayed in a negative way.
The BBFC Guidelines at 15 stated that ‘Drug taking may be shown but the film as whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse’. Shifty did not promote or encourage drug use and in fact provides a strongly cautionary tale about the dangers of drugs. The issue was therefore considered very well placed at 15.
