‘Sharper’: Review

Dir: Benjamin Caron. 2023. USA. 116mins

With its gleaming canyons of capitalism, anonymous alleys and intense concentration of wealth, Manhattan has long been the ideal on-screen location for con artistry. Now, Sharper weaves its own story of greed and corruption against that Big Apple backdrop, as a small gang of hustlers work tirelessly to separate a Wall Street billionaire from his money. But while their carefully-executed plan may be as knotty as they come, this story is as familiar as that iconic New York skyline – and rather more blunt-edged that its title would suggest.

Viewers won’t need many of their own wits about them to guess where this tale is headed

The latest collaboration between Apple and A24, following the likes of On The Rocks and The Sky Is Everywhere, Sharper releases into select US cinemas on February 10, where it is unlikely to see off competitor Magic Mike’s Last Dance. It is sure to find a bigger audience when it comes to Apple TV+ on February 17, with viewers attracted by the film’s glossy premise and stars Sebastian Stan and Julianne Moore (who also produces, and continues her relationship with Apple after executive producing and starring in Stephen King series Lisey’s Story).

As defined in Nathan Bailey’s 1737 ‘Dictionary of Thieving Slang’ — and explicitly explained by Moore’s character early on in proceedings — a sharper is “a cheat, one who lives by his wits”. There’s certainly plenty of that going on here. The script by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka (which appeared on the 2020 Black List of best unproduced screenplays) is a smorgasbord of secrets and lies, crosses and double-crosses, but, despite shifting loyalties and a wilfully oblique chronology, it all plays out in a fairly rote manner.

Max (Stan) and Madeline (Moore) make their living as con artists — and also, in one of the film’s more satisfying conceits, happen to be in a romantic relationship (although that, like everything in their lives, is transactional). Their current mark is Manhattan billionaire Richard Hobbes (John Lithgow), who Madeline has seduced. Max takes the role of Madeline’s deadbeat son who casts a shadow over the new couple’s glamorous life together — the hope is, of course, that Richard will pay him to disappear. But when Madeline changes the rules of the game, personal feelings and grudges start to up the ante. 

Marking the feature directing debut of Benjamin Caron, who has been Emmy and Bafta-nominated for episodes of Netflix mega-hit The Crown, there’s no denying that Sharper looks fantastic. Cinematography from Charlotte Bruus Christensen (A Quiet Place, The Banker) is crisp and precise, making the most of that Manhattan backdrop — the film shot in the city in 2021 — and the attractiveness of its players, giving the film the lurid gleam of a mid-90s thriller. The spirit of Adrian Lyne can also be felt in the film’s outdated determination to weaponise the sexuality of its female characters; an early hotel sequence is particularly unpleasant.

While Stan and Moore may take top billing, co-stars Justice Smith and Brianna Middleton are charismatic and watchable. Smith’s Tom, Richard’s only son, has eschewed his father’s business empire in favour of running his own bookstore — bought for him, pointedly, by his father. And Middleton’s Sandra, newly recruited into the hustler fold by Max, is soon torn between her lucrative new profession and her burgeoning feelings for Tom.

The pair are, supposedly, the moral counterpoints to the cold and calculating Madeline and Max, although each has their own problems — Tom is struggling with the burden of entitlement (although not enough to cast off his riches), and ex-convict Sandra is consumed by a drugs habit. These flaws could have been an intriguing way to further muddy the waters but are underdeveloped and, ultimately, the narrative follows a more obvious route.

There are some fun moments in Sharper, not to mention its attractive production and costume design, and Moore is clearly having a blast with a character who is sexy and smart in equal measure. But with the story broken down into obvious individual character-focused jigsaw pieces, viewers won’t need many of their own wits about them to guess where this tale is headed.