According to the 1737 British “Dictionary of Thieving Slang,” a sharper is defined as “a cheat—one who lives by his wits.” This quote is used as the opening title card in first-time feature director Benjamin Caron’s air-tight psychological thriller which teases and challenges the audience for the duration.
Out-of-Sequence Narrative
The first fifth of the story (which is second chronologically) is played out with relative simplicity. Tom (Justin Smith, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”) is a failed writer who owns a money-losing Manhattan used bookstore. His uneventful life gets a welcomed jolt when the beyond-cute NYU grad student Sandra (Briana Middleton, “The Tender Bar”) walks through the front door.
During some getting-to-know-you chit-chat, Sandra tells Tom her favorite novel is “Jane Eyre,” and he shows her a signed first edition of the same. Their mutual attraction is instant and intense but gets tested when her unnamed and unseen, but quite vocal, brother comes around begging for money to pay off $350,000 in drug debts. Without blinking an eye, Tom tells her he’ll take care of it.
In chapter three, Max arrives at a party being hosted by widowed billionaire Richard (John Lithgow) who has fallen hard for Max’s mother Madeline (Julianne Moore). A drunk and/or high Max lashes out at Madeline, insinuating her wanting skills at parenting are why he’s such a train wreck. She implores him to temporarily live with her and the accommodating Richard until he can get back on his feet. This arrangement doesn’t last long.
If the four previous paragraphs delving into the plot seem fuzzy and/or incomplete, that’s because they are—by design. “Sharper” is the type of movie where knowing too many details going in will thoroughly ruin the viewing experience. Credit and kudos to the distributor (Apple TV+) and studio (A24) for releasing a trailer that also gives next to nothing away and includes no spoilers.
At times resembling “The Sting” (1973), “The Grifters” (1990), “Six Degrees of Separation” (1993), “Pulp Fiction” (1994), “The Usual Suspects” (1995), “Memento” (2000), and “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001), “Sharper” is steeped in mental sleight-of-hand and the art of the double-cross.
There are two clear victims here, two obvious predators, one nebulous wild-card, and other peripheral characters that all factor into the bigger picture. The trouble with this (and it’s a good problem to have from a viewer’s perspective) is trying to put it all together before it plays out on the screen. Bully for you if you can predict the ending in advance.
What’s also pleasing and welcomed: The Internet and social media do not figure into the story at all, even though the story is set in the present day. Far too many thrillers released over the last decade or so tend to include connections to modern communications which, in the long run, will date them.
Music as Characters
The (apropos) droning, electronic-heavy score composed by Clint Mansell is on the mark and several previously released source songs rise to the foreground.Adding considerable narrative punctuation, the songs also serve as de facto cameo performers. Among them are “Slippery People” by Talking Heads, Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry,” Nina Simone’s “Nobody Wants You When You’re Down and Out,” and David Bowie’s “Right” as performed by Khruangbin.
A veteran of high-end, episodic TV (“Wallander,” “The Crown,” “Andor”) and winner of Golden Globe, Emmy, and BAFTA awards, Caron (whose wife Jodie is a co-producer here) makes the most of his feature debut while delivering a fat-free, streamlined, and enthralling crime thriller that all but begs for repeat viewings.
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