--- title: "Wasteman" year: 2026 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/wasteman" fi1m_id: "wasteman" imdb_id: "tt29028515" tmdb_id: 1307373 wikidata_id: "Q130979735" fi1m_score: 72 critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-09-21" updated: "2026-10-03T04:05:59.927546+00:00" region: "MX" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Wasteman (2026) Directed by Cal McMau · 1h 31m · Crime, Drama, Thriller ## Identity Wasteman - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/wasteman - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** wasteman - **IMDb ID:** tt29028515 - **TMDB ID:** 1307373 - **Wikidata ID:** Q130979735 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29028515/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1307373, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q130979735 **Fi1m score: 72** · Critics 74 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* Ninety minutes of the worst flatshare in Britain, and the door only opens from the outside > Cal McMau’s debut locks David Jonsson and Tom Blyth in a cell together, and the two of them are worth the ticket. The story around them is the one prison films always tell, and the violence makes its point early and keeps making it. ## Synopsis Taylor (David Jonsson) is doing his time quietly in a British men’s prison, keeping his head down and counting the days until an early-release scheme might let him out. Then Dee (Tom Blyth) is moved into his cell. Dee is loud, unpredictable and quick with his fists, and he has a smuggled phone, which on the wing is both currency and a weapon: fights are filmed, and the footage travels. Taylor’s plan is to stay out of trouble until his release. Dee’s plan, if he has one, is to make trouble and be seen making it. Around them on the wing are Paul (Alex Hassell), Robby (Neil Linpow), Browning (Paul Hilton) and Gaz (Corin Silva), and the officers are never quite where they are needed. ## Review Cal McMau’s first feature is a British prison film, and it does not pretend to be anything else. Two men share a cell; one wants to get out and the other does not seem to care whether he does. The wing runs on debts and threats, and the officers are mostly somewhere else. Hunter Andrews and Eoin Doran’s script has added one thing to the formula, a smuggled phone, and the film is at its sharpest whenever the phone comes out. It is a good film rather than a remarkable one, worth your evening if this is your genre, and it is carried a long way by its two leads. David Jonsson plays Taylor, who has served most of his time and intends to serve the rest without anyone noticing him. Jonsson makes himself small: shoulders in, eyes down, voice kept low enough that the man beside him has to lean in. It is a performance about effort. We can see how much it costs Taylor to say nothing when he is provoked, and Jonsson lets the strain show in his hands before it shows anywhere else. When he finally does speak up, in a scene we will not describe, the shock is in how quiet he still is. Tom Blyth’s Dee is the opposite. He arrives in the cell talking and does not stop, and Blyth plays him as a man who has to be looked at or he ceases to exist. He is funny for about ten minutes. Then the jokes start landing on Taylor, and we realised we had been laughing along with someone we should have been frightened of. Blyth fills every inch of the frame he is given and Jonsson gives ground, and the tension comes from watching how much ground is left. Lorenzo Levrini shoots the cell as what it is, a room the width of two beds, and stays in it long enough that we know where every scuff on the wall is. Phoebe Platman’s design gives the wing dirty cream paint and one high window per cell, and Lauren Miller keeps the prisoners in grey tracksuits so that in a crowd only the faces separate them. Forest Swords’ score is a low electronic drone, more felt than heard, and it has the sense to drop out when the phone footage starts. That footage is the film’s idea. Fights are filmed by whoever is standing nearest, handheld and badly lit, and Ryan Morrison and James A. Demetriou cut the clips straight into the film, so we see a beating first from the ground and then from the phone that was pointed at it. The first time this happened we flinched, and then felt sick, because the person holding the phone was laughing. By the fourth beating we had stopped flinching, and we noticed that we had stopped. McMau wants us to notice. The trouble is that he makes the point inside half an hour and then keeps making it, and the later fights showed us nothing the first one had not. Around the two leads, Alex Hassell, Neil Linpow, Paul Hilton and Corin Silva give the wing faces that look as if they have been there a while, and Hilton in particular gets a good deal from little. The early-release scheme hanging over Taylor is the script’s one contemporary hook, and it is well used: a man with weeks left has more to lose than a man with years. What the script has not found is a shape for the middle. Between Dee’s arrival and the last act there is a stretch of confrontations that could be played in any order. British prison films have a long memory. *Scum* (1979) and [*Starred Up*](https://film.one/film/starred-up) (2013) are the obvious ancestors, and *Wasteman* has learned their lesson about keeping the camera close to the prisoners. It has not found anything they did not, apart from the phone. The reviews have been kind to it, and the two performances are the reason; they make the film look better than its script. See it for Jonsson and Blyth, and see it knowing that the 18 certificate is earned. At 91 minutes it does not overstay. The violence is filmed by people who are enjoying it, and for a good deal of the running time we are standing where they stood. *Fi1m score 72, published 21 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics like Wasteman, and the praise clusters almost entirely on the two leads. David Jonsson’s weary, layered Taylor and Tom Blyth’s menace are singled out in nearly every review, with several calling the pairing the reason the film works. The reviews also credit the film with feeling current: phone-shot sequences, a social media motif, and details drawn from real footage and ex-inmates that tie it to the state of British prisons now. The reservations are about familiarity. Even the warm reviews concede the story follows the prison-drama template and does not break new ground. The spread is moderate rather than wide: most sit between good and very good, with Time Out finding it ordinary until it becomes a film about a terrible cellmate. The one real dissent is IndieWire, reviewing from a festival, which finds little beyond Jonsson’s performance and a great deal of violence it does not think the film earns. ## Straight answers **Is Wasteman worth watching?** *Wasteman* is worth watching if British prison dramas are your genre, and we scored it 72. David Jonsson and Tom Blyth carry it as two men locked in one cell, and the smuggled phone that films every fight is the one idea the script adds. The story around them is the familiar one, and the middle stretch could be shuffled without anyone noticing. **How long is Wasteman, and what is it rated?** *Wasteman* runs 1h 31m. It is a crime and drama film. **Where can I watch Wasteman in Mexico?** *Wasteman* is not on any streaming or rental service in Mexico at the moment. It is available in 14 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is Wasteman, and is it suitable for children?** *Wasteman* carries an 18 certificate in the UK and an R in the US, and it earns them; it is not for children or younger teenagers. The beatings are filmed handheld by prisoners who are laughing while they hold the phone, and we flinched and then felt sick. Anyone squeamish about repeated, close-up violence should give it a miss. **How does Wasteman compare to Starred Up?** *Wasteman* and [*Starred Up*](https://film.one/film/starred-up) are both British prison films that keep the camera close to the men in the cells, but *Starred Up* is the fuller and more humane of the two. Its father-and-son story gives it feeling that *Wasteman* mostly withholds. Choose *Wasteman* for two strong performances and a sharp idea about filmed violence; choose *Starred Up* for a story that goes somewhere. **What should I watch after Wasteman?** After *Wasteman*, try [*Starred Up*](https://film.one/film/starred-up) (2013, Fi1m 84): Jack O’Connell in a British cell with his father; the same walls, more feeling. Then [*A Prophet*](https://film.one/film/a-prophet) (2009, Fi1m 86): A French prison education, told over years, with a lead who learns fast; and [*Hunger*](https://film.one/film/hunger) (2008, Fi1m 86): Steve McQueen’s Maze prison, almost wordless, and harder to shake than any fight. ### Reviews we read (9) - **Empire**, John Nugent (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it a remarkable feature debut that blends social-realist traditions with fresh relevance to the UK's prison crisis, marked by authenticity from real footage, ex-inmate input and timely plot elements like early-release schemes. They single out the visceral energy, intense tension, and strong performances from David Jonsson and Tom Blyth for praise. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/wasteman/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Matt Zoller Seitz (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a powerful debut that fuses gritty psychodrama with hardboiled melodrama, holding tragic weight. Jonsson and Blyth’s inspired pairing as the cellmates is singled out for particular praise. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wasteman-david-jonsson-film-review-2026) - **Slant Magazine**, Marshall Shaffer (80/100, inferred): David Jonsson and Tom Blyth form a compelling yin-and-yang pair in this gritty prison drama about two cellmates navigating violence and survival. The film effectively balances narrative economy with specificity in its exploration of prison dynamics and surveillance. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/wasteman-review-tom-blyth/) - **The Guardian** (80/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a brutally violent and gripping British prison drama that sidesteps familiar tropes with fierce storytelling and committed performances. Rising stars David Jonsson and Tom Blyth are singled out for their convincing portrayals of the central cellmates. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/18/wasteman-review-brit-prison-drama-is-as-lethal-and-nasty-as-a-sharpened-toothbrush) - **Variety**, Guy Lodge (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the familiar prison drama lifted by the stars’ contrasting energies and McMau’s assured direction. The dueling masculine archetypes and cellphone-shot sequences are singled out. [Read](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/wasteman-review-david-jonsson-1236721545/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Tim Grierson (70/100, inferred): The critic calls the debut a solid reminder of the sturdy appeal of prison survival stories, thanks especially to Jonsson’s layered performance. The predictable genre elements and focus on the leads’ dynamic are noted. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2026-04-24/wasteman-review-david-jonsson-tom-blyth-cal-mcmau-prison) - **Time Out**, Shaurya Thapa (3/5): The critic finds the film a familiar entry in the prison movie genre until it focuses on the relatable nightmare of a terrible roommate. They praise the lead performances, especially Jonsson's empathy and Blyth's menacing presence, along with the use of phone-shot footage for a social media-era feel. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/wasteman-review-2026) - **IndieWire**, Christian Zilko (50/100, inferred): The film offers a strong showcase for lead David Jonsson but otherwise provides little beyond graphic depictions of prison violence. It effectively conveys the brutality and pointlessness of that violence yet fails to justify subjecting viewers to so much of it. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/wasteman-review-1235150656/) - **The Playlist**, Christian Gallichio (B+): The critic praises the film as a calculated and enticing debut that rises above its influences through strong performances, particularly David Jonsson's nuanced turn as the weary prisoner Taylor, and its contemporary social media motif. However, it doesn't break new narrative ground and leans on familiar prison drama tropes. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/wasteman-review-a-brutal-prison-two-hander-finds-its-pulse-in-david-jonssons-continued-hot-streak-20260417/) ## Details - **Director:** Cal McMau - **Director:** Cal McMau - **Screenplay:** Eoin Doran, Hunter Andrews - **Cinematography:** Lorenzo Levrini - **Editor:** James A. Demetriou, Ryan Morrison - **Music:** Forest Swords - **Production design:** Phoebe Platman - **Costume design:** Lauren Miller - **Producer:** Sophia Gibber, Myles Payne - **Cast:** David Jonsson as Taylor; Tom Blyth as Dee; Alex Hassell as Paul; Neil Linpow as Robby; Paul Hilton as Browning; Corin Silva as Gaz; Layton Blake as Maxi; Jack Barker as Cook up Prisoner - **Runtime:** 1h 31m - **First release (Canada):** 5 September 2025 - **Genres:** Crime, Drama, Thriller - **Production:** Bankside Films, Hoopsa Films, Agile Films, It's All Made Up Productions - **Budget:** $1 million - **Box office:** $1 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaOextY7REM ## Where to watch in Mexico Not streaming, renting or buying in Mexico at the last check. Also available in: BE, BG, CA, CZ, GB, HR, HU, IE, NL, PL, RO, RS, SI, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Starred Up* (2013), Fi1m 84: Jack O’Connell in a British cell with his father; the same walls, more feeling. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/starred-up.md) - *A Prophet* (2009), Fi1m 86: A French prison education, told over years, with a lead who learns fast. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-prophet.md) - *Scum* (1979): The borstal film everything British about prisons still answers to. - *Hunger* (2008), Fi1m 86: Steve McQueen’s Maze prison, almost wordless, and harder to shake than any fight. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/hunger.md) - *Cell 211* (2009): A Spanish guard trapped inside a riot on his first day; pure pressure. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/wasteman