Directed by: Benjamin Caron
Written by: Brian Gatewood & Alessandro Tanaka
Starring: Justice Smith, Briana Middleton, Sebastian Stan, Julianne Moore, and John Lithgow
‘Sharper’ has a few surprising twists, but features the classic con artist drama plot.
Meet Tom (Justice Smith). A sensitive guy who spends the day reading in his bookstore.
Oh! and his family has MONEY money.
The majority of “Sharper” is spent shifting these funds around. The standard scheming also offers a few surprising twists from the con artists that keep the audience engaged in the film.
From the ‘who-are-they’ question to the ‘who-done-it’ drama, “Sharper” shows how four people from different walks of life are willing to go to extremes for the things that they want.
Each of their lives intertwines in some manner, and money seems to be involved for each of them.
Most viewers know from real-life experience that money holds a lot of power in the world. In this motion picture, money also plays a big role. The audience is caught on a one-path mindset that money is a tool that provides. Whether money is used for persuasion or a better lifestyle, it makes its way into every nook and cranny of the film.
It begs the question, can money have a bigger purpose in the world?
“You can’t cheat an honest man…” Max’s (Sebastian Stan) motto allows him to feel no remorse for his con man lifestyle. Especially since accumulating money is the most important part of his life. Stan’s role as a practiced con man clearly accentuated the detached and slightly unhinged characteristics of Max at the beginning of the film.
As a foil to Max, Sandra (Briana Middleton), is easily one of the most intriguing characters to follow throughout the movie. Her background, acceptance and dissension, are distinguishable traits that allow the audience to question her actions and motivation throughout the film.
While all of the characters are diverse, through their notable actions and levels of intelligence, the film seemed to lack a progression of thought about intelligence, skill or monetary values; which are some of the main concepts throughout the film. The plot is one-note when considering the use of money since viewers aren’t given thought-provoking revelations about the impact of its use in the world. This leaves the audience with a semi-climactic resolution that merely follows the character’s status changes.
The cinematography throughout the film, highlighted through the introductions to Tom, Sandra, Max and Madeline (Julianne Moore), is easily digestible for the audience. Director Benjamin Caron, and writers Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, split the film into enjoyable chunks for the viewers, piecing together the main characters at various points in their life. Then, the audience is fed information in such a manner that when the end of the film rolls around, they can easily understand the copious amounts of new content.
Overall, “Sharper” is an intriguing watch, but leaves the audience with nothing new.
Plot: ★★☆☆☆ 2/5
Cinematography: ★★★☆☆ 3/5
Character Arc: ★☆☆☆☆ 1/5
