Sharper (2023) || A Sharp movie indeed
No one is who they seem between all the secrets and lies where strangers compete for riches and power in a high stakes game of ambition, greed, lust and jealousy.
Sharper stars Justice Smith, Sebastian Stan, Julianne Moore, Brianna Middleton and John Lithgow. Now, this is told in chapters with each putting one of the characters at the center of the focus so we get to know more about it. These chapters also fall within the timeline that we're watching.
I mean, sometimes they're showing concurrent or consecutive events, while other times it's showing us what transpired in the past. The cinematography is absolutely awesome in a late 80s to early 90s gritty crime drama sort of style. The saturation is turned up to highlight the lights in New York City against crushing black night skies.
And then a soft focus, almost like a smeared lens, affects the way the lights display, giving them a hazy appearance. And then creating an older aesthetic to the movie and musical score. It also helps to contribute to that.
It's very reminiscent of an 80s film utilizing a lot of synth and tight drums. Just about every shot in this doesn't feel like it came out of the 2020s, but instead will make you feel like you've traveled back in time to see a crime caper movie filled with twists and turns. The center of the story is scheming, leaving us to wonder who we can trust and who's telling the truth.
Movies of this sort, I mean, they're a lot of fun because as the story weaves between all the characters, doubt and suspicions are raised, sometimes falsely in an effort to always keep us guessing at what the outcome will be and who's going to come out on top. The acting is spectacular, with everybody diving into their roles to make their personas very believable. Justice Smith comes across as sort of an everyman.
He's down to earth, pretty unassuming, and generally just a nice guy. Brianna Middleton is also very likable, but she gets to showcase some differences in her range because of what's expected from her character. And she's very charismatic.
And I like her dynamic with Smith when they share the screen. Sebastian Stan again goes against his Bucky Barnes MCU persona, and he leans more into his character from fresh or maybe even Pam and Tommy. He's charming, but he has a fierceness to it that is very engaging and explosively captivating.
And then there's Julianne Moore. She's sweet and almost motherly, which is fitting for her character. But she also gives these looks that sometimes clue us into her motivations.
John Lethko is in this probably the least out of everybody, but he's great at being a no nonsense businessman who's very successful and therefore not naive. He's used to getting his way, so he commands his scenes with a lot of presence and power. Now, chapters, they flow really well and they create a moving and cohesive narrative that's able to maintain a lot of urgency for the plot.
As actions mount, so do the complications for the characters and the story. And this then helps to create a lot of twists within the storytelling that are meant to keep us guessing at what is really going on. But here's the thing for me.
So many of the arcs are disappointingly obvious way before they're fully revealed. When we meet characters, their plot lines are basically telegraphed, destroying all inklings of suspense. At about 15 minutes into the movie, I was able to guess what was going on.
And that then laid out everything else that came next. The intrigue was gone for me. And that then led to the rest of this just being more of a chore to get through than an enjoyable and exciting watch.
And that's not to take away from the acting. I really think it's more of a story problem than anything. Too many obvious clues are presented to us.
But the film still asks us to be in wonderment at what could be going on and who could be doing what. And I think the overall caper element to the story, it comes too late in the film. We've already been steeped in supposed mystery.
But because it's so obvious and predictable, the caper itself then doesn't hold any surprise. I kept hoping that I was wrong and that the twists were going to blow my mind and make me laugh at myself for being so smug and thinking that I'd figured it all out. And that's probably what made this even more disappointing, because it never did that.
It didn't subvert my expectations and then provide a climax that I didn't see coming. Predictability, it was detrimental for me. And all the fabulous acting and the spectacular cinematography and even aesthetics, they couldn't offset that.
There's also a huge similarity between one story arc and a comedy from 1995. Now, when I saw the character interactions, it was absolutely the first thing that popped into my mind. And I couldn't believe when it all panned out that way.
And I think you can have a lot of fun with this story, especially because the characters are so expressive, demonstrative and engaging. The vibe of the film is also a huge draw, making it feel almost like a Michael Mann movie from back in the day. The actors themselves, they're great to watch, too, each bringing a certain flair and style.
But for me, though, I just wish the mystery would have been more clever and obscured, making it hard to determine what was going on to maintain that intrigue for longer. I do hope, though, that you have fun with this. In any case, I think it deserves a three out of five stars.
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