Reputation (2024 film)

Reputation is a 2024 British psychological drama crime film set in the fictional Lancashire town of Dennings. Co-written, directed and produced by Martin Law, the independent film stars James Nelson-Joyce as a small time drug dealer who begins to question his life choices when his violent partner-in-crime is released from prison.^[2]

Reputation
Directed by	Martin Law
Written by	Martin Law Dean Gregson Jordan Derbyshire
Produced by	Martin Law
Starring	James Nelson-Joyce Kyle Rowe Olivia Frances Brown
Cinematography	Daniel Llobera
Edited by	Michael Milligan
Music by	Jake Bradford-Sharp
Production company	Factory Noir
Distributed by	Trinity Creative Partnership[1]
Running time	82 minutes[1]
Country	UK
Language	English

The film premiered at the Spirit of Independence Film Festival in 2024,^[3] qualifying for the British Independent Film Awards, and it has received strong reviews from critics, particularly for the performances.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} The film was released digitally in the UK on 28th July 2025.^[9]

Plot

With more and more residents in Dennings getting hooked on "Clown" – a new form of ecstasy – it’s 30-year-old drug dealer Wes who’s cashing in. He’s happy keeping the operation small in his rough-and-ready home town; but when partner-in-crime Tommy returns from a short stint in prison, Wes starts to question if this life is for him anymore.^[10]

Cast

• James Nelson-Joyce as Wes
• Kyle Rowe as Tommy
• Olivia Frances Brown as Zoe
• Kru Lundy as Vince
• Ross Thompson as Grayson
• Robyn Sass as Tasha
• Robyn Sass as Becky
• Andrew Purcell as Aidan

Production

Casting

Co-lead Kyle Rowe joined the cast just a few days before filming began.^[11]

Filming

Principal photography took place in Lancashire in October 2023, with filming locations including Great Harwood, Accrington, Clayton-le-Moors, Burnley and Preston.^[12] The film was shot in 9.5 days, with rehearsals taking place right before the filming of each scene.^[11]

Reception

Critical response

The film has received a mixture of five, four and three star reviews.

The Radio Times gave the film four stars out of five, with critic Dave Golder writing: "First-time director Martin Law shoots in a style that wavers between the gritty realism of Nicolas Winding Refn's Pusher films and the darker end of the British TV crime show spectrum."^[7]

Critic Kevin Haldon of Nerdly described the film in his five star review as "Damn impressive", going on to say, "Everything Reputation does right, it does it VERY right."^[4]

The Guardian gave the film 3 stars, calling the film “A brawling portrait of British male rage... Rowe’s ferocious performance feels horribly real.”^[13]

In addition to praising the performances, critic Shahrbanoo Golmohamadi of Gazettely highlighted Martin Law’s direction in her four star review, saying: "He crafts a world that is grounded, gritty, and unflinching, a style that might be called kitchen-knife realism."^[8]

Awards and nominations

In 2025, the film received a nomination for Best Independent Film at the National Film Awards UK.^[14]