'Sharper:' A Dedicated, Sexy, and Thrilling Ride of Intrigue and Deceit
"If you're gonna steal, steal a lot."
Movies about conmen have the ability to fascinate and infuriate me at the same time. Do you remember that old and mean Ridley Scott caper, Matchstick Men, with Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman? That flick thrust a knife as big as Rambo’s into my naive 14-year-old heart and twisted it a dozen times. It made me care for people who couldn't be trusted. Ever since I’m very cautious about emotionally investing in any movie that involves winsome crooks.
Benjamin Caron’s latest A24/Apple TV+ thriller Sharper, however, is pretty honest about its intentions from the start. It informs us early on that almost all of these slick, sophisticated, and unabashedly attractive people we’re about to see are conniving sonsabitches with one goal: to win the game. The game, in this case, is to scam hedge-fund billionaire Richard Hobbes (John Lithgow) and his family out of their fortune. But before we meet him and the hustlers, we have a front-row seat to witness a well-thought-out swindle in action.
Enter Tom (Justice Smith), a shy and naïve book store owner, and Sandra (Briana Middleton), an intriguingly sexy customer searching for a hardcover copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God. After their meet-cute and a couple of dates, they naturally fall in love — or at least one of them thinks they do. Tom believes he's found someone special. That is until Sandra's junkie brother shows up, pounding on her door and asking for her help to pay off some loan sharks that he owes $350,000. She doesn’t have that kind of money. But guess who does? Coincidentally (NOT), Tom’s dad happens to be (you’ll never figure) a wealthy billionaire. He gets the money from him, and after giving it to Sandra, she disappears from his life just as fast as she's entered it.
That’s the first segment of the film (we get five overall) told from the most gullible character’s (Tom) perspective. It sets the tone perfectly and connects us to the real players: Max (Sebastian Stan) and Madeline (Julianne Moore). Those two are pro swindlers who prey on emotionally deceivable people — Tom and his father fall into that category — to make a score. They are shallow, soulless, empty human shells whose greed is always greater than any of their feelings. We learn that quickly, as one of them betrays the other for a higher swag the minute an opportunity presents itself. That's when a cat-and-mouse game of who can out-trick the other begins, and we get to enjoy the show first-hand.
I'm being purposely vague about the plot and the relationships between the characters because the less you know, the greater the suspense grows. That said, Sharper’s biggest asset is its no-bullshit straightforwardness. Every trickery is meticulously revealed after taking place, which smoothly advances Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka’s bright script to provide new mysteries. Every answer poses a new question, and each fraud leads to the next one. The movie's goal isn't to fool us alongside the victims but to make us participate — because all the fun to be had is guessing what each character's next move might be. The more we learn about these tricksters and their immoral worldviews, the more we understand the game's rules and power dynamics.
Trained and experienced viewers will surely be able to spot some tells to predict certain twists — there are plenty of them — but that's all part of the fun. In fact, the characters’ omnipresent wickedness allows us to indulge in amorality without feeling guilty for rooting for one or another (or rooting for either side at all). Sharper is fully committed to its cons and leaves little space for anything else. Hence some critics found an issue with the protagonists' one-dimensional motivations and superficiality, while I think that actually adds to their depth. Max and Madeline are so full of themselves that they believe they're infallible. At one point, Madeline even tells Max she's too good to get caught. Yet the beauty of crime capers such as Sharper is that no one’s too good. No one’s mind is impenetrable. If you’re too cocky and confident, you tempt your own fate to turn against you. The film not only acknowledges that aspect but uses it to its advantage by inflicting additional twists at every moment when one of the players believes they defeated the other.
Sharper is a sexy and thrilling rollercoaster ride of intrigue and deceit that gives a chance to actors like Sebastian Stan and Julianne Moore to showcase their impressive range. While Stan displays his natural charisma of coolness and swag, Moore mines her inimitable talent to depict rigid ruthlessness. It's their moment to shine (and they own every second of it), yet Justice Smith and Briana Middleton bring a convincing and much-needed humanity to the picture, too.
These days, we don't often get engaging B thrillers like this, so Sharper truly is a treat we should embrace and praise every chance we get.
Sharper is streaming on Apple TV+.
As I promised in the last edition, this week I reviewed Apple TV+’s new sci-fi dramedy Hello Tomorrow! for Fanfare. I also wrote a celebration of Michael Keaton’s best scenes as Batman (the best Dark Knight that has ever been!) for Looper since he’ll be reprising his role (fuck yeah!) in the new The Flash movie.
There’s more to come next week, so stay tuned — and if you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it to someone who you think would like it, too.