Nuanced and near-perfect drama
A near-perfect neonoir film with little violence
Sharper (R, 116 mins) Now streaming on Apple TV+ Directed by Benjamin Caron Reviewed by Jen Shiefff
Sharper is a near-perfect neonoir film, featuring a wellpaced, twisty plot with conspiracy, corruption, a femme fatale or two, plenty of shadowy lighting and great characters in a drama with thriller elements and a refreshing absence of violence.
Julianne Moore and John Lithgow star, with stylish first-time directing by Benjamin Caron and a top-notch script by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka.
A definition of the word “sharper” flashes across the screen at the beginning; apparently, it means one who lives by their wits and it turns out most of the characters do, outsmarting each other in mostly unpredictable ways.
A wonderfully evocative jazz and blues soundtrack brings in love and heartbreak, and yes, real feelings exist in the film, but it’s really about deception; a theme that’s illustrated by quick relevant references to Jane Eyre, whose beloved Mr Rochester has to hide his love for Jane, to the Tell-Tale Heart whose criminal narrator tries to con readers into believing in his innocence and to Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina whose betrayal of her husband causes
scandal and disaster.
The film opens in a poorly lit New York bookstore where Tom (Justice Smith) is reading Poe, oblivious at first to the gorgeous customer called Sandra (Briana Middleton) who has quietly come into the shop, subtly managing to convey to us, smart viewers that we are to be in on her game, that she isn’t the earnest student Tom believes her to be.
Instantly we know that vulnerable, innocent Tom definitely shouldn’t ask her to have dinner with him.
Sandra says she’s looking for a book by Zora Neale Hurston, Their
Eyes Were Watching God, spookily turning the tables on the title, and fittingly it turns out Sandra is about to turn the tables herself, by putting a hex on Tom.
She’s learned exactly how to do that from Max (Sebastian Stan) who seems to have grabbed her heart in the process.
Max has also grabbed the heart of Madeline (Julianne Moore), in a new relationship with hedge-fund billionaire Richard (John Lithgow) who, despite being worldly-wise, has not an iota of suspicion about Madeline’s real intentions.
Storylines and characters turn out, in a series of surprises, to be connected to each other as they are in Love Actually, but a romantic comedy this is not.
Cinematography by Charlotte Bruus Christensen, who did outstanding work on The Girl on the Train, another “did she, didn’t she” drama, makes the most of New York’s cityscapes, seedy bars and luxurious apartments while bringing all the plot strands into increasingly sharper focus.
One of the cleverest aspects of the film is how it in effect hexes us, draws us in but also makes us want to put the malevolence of all the moneyobsessed con artists to one side, in the hope that amongst them there’s a good person who will triumph in the end. Somebody wins, but what’s happened to their morals in the process?
An intriguing film that sheds light on how, in Richard’s words, to steal big.
Must see
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