Sharper: A cut above

Sharper (2023) • View trailer

3.5 stars (out of five). Rated R, for profanity and sensuality

Available via: Movie theaters and (beginning Feb. 17) Apple TV+

By Derrick Bang • Published in The Davis Enterprise, 2.10.23 

This one has style to burn.

 

Director Benjamin Caron definitely knows his way around atmosphere, and Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka’s deliciously crafty script is as sleek as the elegant outfits that costume designer Melissa Toth has draped onto the primary characters.

 

After a charming first encounter, Tom (Justice Smith) and Sandra (Briana Middleton)
become inseparable. But what's really going on?

I hate saying anything about the plot, because the fun comes from the discovery — as events proceed — that very little is what it seems. This is a grifter saga, very much in the vein of The Sting, American Hustle and The Brothers Bloom (the latter an overlooked early entry from Rian Johnson, who brought us Knives Out; do look for it).

And yet Sharper — great double-entendre title, that — doesn’t feel like a grifter movie … at least not initially.

 

Gatewood and Tanaka’s narrative is divided into distinct acts, the first of which unfolds like a meet-cute love story (and Caron stages it that way).

 

Manhattan Bookstore owner Tom (Justice Smith) can’t help being intrigued by customer Sandra (Briana Middleton), when she browses and then requests a specific title. Their conversation is mildly flirty until it gets awkward, when her credit card is declined. Tom makes a magnanimous gesture; she gets embarrassed, and that might have been that.

 

But she turns out to be honest, which touches him. Several weeks pass, during which they become an item. Middleton’s Sandra sparkles with warmth and kindness; Smith is equally fine as the aw-shucks, somewhat naïve Tom.

 

Then things take … and intriguing turn.

 

We next meet Max (Sebastian Stan). He’s suave, smooth and sophisticated: a thoroughly accomplished con artist. He undertakes a long-term project, with a very specific goal in mind. He’s alternately patient and merciless, rewarding small successes and applying punishment when necessary.

 

Stan is the epitome of cool: often dressed in black, radiating a degree of mystery heightened by a slightly mocking gaze and insincere smile.

 

The narrative cuts to a new chapter. Madeline (Julianne Moore) has become cozy with über-billionaire Richard Hobbes (John Lithgow). Here, at last, Gatewood and Tanaka reveal some of their hole cards; Madeline’s relationship feels artificial. Moore’s bearing is calculated, her smile — when Richard isn’t looking — quite predatory. Whatever else is going on, Madeline’s affection for him isn’t genuine.

 

Events proceed; sidebar characters come into play. It soon becomes clear that we viewers also are being hustled, because this narrative isn’t linear; some of these distinct chapters are flashbacks, even though they don’t initially seem that way. Attempting to place them in proper sequence — before all becomes clear in the denouement — is an intriguing exercise.

 

The problem with such stories, though, is that it becomes difficult to trust anybody, or take any words or deeds at face value. Sincerity is for suckers, ergo every scenario — every encounter and conversation — becomes suspect (if only in hindsight).

 

It’s therefore necessary to relax and simply embrace this film’s cat-and-mouse duplicity. Caron’s tone is provocative, but also mildly threatening; his approach isn’t exactly “fun” in the manner of Knives Out or The Glass Onion. An undercurrent of danger permeates these events.

 

Although Lithgow slides smoothly into his role as an accomplished business titan, it’s clear that Richard would have required shrewd judgment to get where he is. One weakness in Gatewood and Tanaka’s scenario is that Richard therefore seems too easy a mark; we expect him to be more wary. 

 

His bland acceptance of several things — including Madeline — feels wrong. Unlike everybody else here, his behavior is contrived, in order to move the story along.

 

Moore has a ball with Madeline’s ruthlessly avaricious behavior; she’s so thoroughly wicked, we can’t help admiring her. Moore shimmers with coquettish resolve; Madeline likes being bad, and clearly would do anything to accomplish what she desires.

 

Well … maybe not anything. Everybody has a line that can’t — won’t — be crossed, and she’s no different.

 

Kevin Thompson’s production design is excellent, from the cozy atmosphere of Tom’s bookstore, to the lavish but oddly sterile environment of Richard’s massive penthouse home. Cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen makes excellent use of light and shadow; much of the action takes place at night, or in darkened rooms.

 

Clint Mansell’s sultry score supplies an appropriately lazy, often jazzy ambiance.

Savvy viewers — particularly those who devour mystery novels — likely will anticipate the final act, but that’s okay. The journey remains engaging.