Sharper Is a Wickedly Good Thriller

It should be delighted that the new con-artist thriller Sharper will be released in theaters on February 10 (one week before it will be available on AppleTV+). The movie, from writers Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka and director Benjamin Caron, is something that, to borrow a term from a recent Grammys villain, seems like a movie—which is vanishingly rare in today’s woebegone cinematic milieu. A sharply written and acted B-picture of the kind that used to be plentiful but now only appears once every few years, Sharper is sinewy and cunning.

Each chapter in Sharper follows a separate character who becomes caught up in a web of deceit and greed. The first section introduces us to Tom (Justice Smith), a modest (if dreamy) book shop employee who has a first encounter with Sandra (Brianna Middleton). They get along well on the subject of books, but Sandra first resists Tom’s polite approaches. Later that day, when she eventually agrees to a date, she and Tom turn out to be a good match. The following weeks are spent watching them develop a gorgeous, bohemian relationship. The decision to shoot on film by Caron and the director Charlotte Bruus Christensen encourages that cozy swoon; instead of the disposable dullness of a throwaway digital Netflix thriller, we get this.

Trouble will inevitably arrive on the door of the in love couple. Sandra’s brother needs money and is in a difficult situation. Tom explains that his billionaire father has given him a significant trust money, which he has access to. Issue resolved? Of course not, never. In order to disclose characters’ genuine motives or at least another level of deception, Sharper starts its cunning game by turning back on them. After Middleton briefly assumes center stage, Max (Sebastian Stan), a seductive creep, comes to the fore. The suave society lady Madeline, portrayed by Julianne Moore, is the final character.

Caron steers with a steady, assured hand as Sharper snakes its way along. It’s a promising first feature film, polished and artistic while still keeping in mind the essential elements of a suspenseful thriller. Although I’m sure Caron has goals beyond this kind of exquisite pulp, if he wanted to make a dozen more films in the same style, I’d be more than happy to see them.

Moore might appear in a couple of them. The veteran actor reverts to the flintiness and purr that have characterized some of her best work in Sharper. Moore got her start in soap operas, and she skillfully uses this background in Sharper. Moore is a superb entertainer who is mindful of her responsibility to keep things interesting. She is particularly adept at pushing things just over the line of camp without getting stupid. She and Stan have a hot chemistry together—they’re both cunning sexpots who do bad things with a gleam of want in their eyes.

Another star is Middleton, a relative novice who takes on a sizable, constantly-shifting part with the grace and comfort of an established veteran. She seemed to be energized by the project’s wit and complexity, much like the rest of her cast members. When he isn’t busily glooming it up in various Marvel movies, Stan has established himself as one of the more dependable dark princes of acting. Middleton also skilfully spars with Stan. Stan appears to have been created specifically for a film like Sharper, where he is asked to be dashing and petulant, ruthless and bratty. He enjoys the enjoyable, import duties that have been assigned to him, Middleton, Moore, and others.

If only there were a lot more people who were like them. Perhaps twenty years ago, a film like this wouldn’t seem so priceless; Sharper might only seem like a filling meal to us because we are so otherwise hungry. But given the times we’re in, I’m completely happy to say that Sharper is one of those desperately required movies that are no longer produced. It’s a chic and captivating movie that dares to be nothing more than a literary romp.

Though the movie will soon be available to stream in your homes, if you have the opportunity, go see it in a cinema. Instead of churning out yet another mystery that’s been agonizingly dragged out across ten monotonous hours, perhaps a little box office success could motivate studios to make more films like Sharper. If it helps, consider Sharper to be a very limited series that is, nevertheless, only in terms of length.

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