Clever and cunning Sharper runs long cons on smart grifters who are never what they seem. The narrative is divided into short episodes that introduce the players at different stages of deception. We are given a clue about what’s going on, but we don’t know it’s full extent until the second act. Seduction is an artful trick that attracts predators like a huge bone would vultures. Acting-wise, the movie takes you from sleazy roads to luxurious penthouse scheming. I was glued till need for something more prominent bursts the narative bubble. It claws in and then loses its grip with an overblown climax.
Behind the cash register of his small, Manhattan bookshop, Tom (Justice Smith) reads silently to himself. Sandra (Briana Middleton), an academia Ph.D candidate studying feminism and literature at NYU, walks in looking for a gift for one of her lecturers. Her trendy looks easily lull Tom into submission. Then he summons up courage to invite her out to dinner. Sandra says no gently … just like she won’t have enough funds on her card after some few awkward moments later when she tries paying for her books using it . She doesn’t have any money with her right now and instead asks Tom if he can give her this book free but she will come back later and pay for it.
Tom closes shop as Sandra appears with money in hand. Seeing her instantly gives him a surprise that makes his heart skip many beats! Sandra confesses she wanted to say yes earlier in their conversation. Sparks fly over dinner among them both since they find themselves compatible together.Tom and Sandra fall hard in love with each other.He admits being a failed writer struggling with depression.Sandra had grown up in foster care due to having an older brother who was always problematic.She wonders why they always go back to her place.
Meanwhile, Max (Sebastian Stan) visits his mother Madeline (Julianne Moore) at their grand house for dinner. He is a billionaire hedge fund owner and her boyfriend Richard Hobbes(John Lithgow) is much older than she.Richard had been warned by Madeline about Max’s spoiled brat behavior.He creates a scene that makes a tearful Madeline feel ashamed of him. Ryan Reynolds delivers another brilliant performance that shows his powerlessness in the face of this man’s coldness as Richard barely acknowledges Max’s presence because he can easily buy his silence.Max is completely out of control and needs to disappear so as not to make a mess of things.
The game gets going fast with an interesting start. There is more than meets the eye with Tom and Sandra. In other words, chapter two tells us about Sandra and changes the whole narrative. You get your first glimpse into what the bigger con is and where everyone might fit in it. But greed never has enough to drink. Allies become enemies when the stakes are too high to share in wealth.But why argue over peanuts when you can have it all?
First-time feature film director Benjamin Caron (Wallander, The Crown) makes his mark with this critically acclaimed British television series.Sharper oozes tension, its exposition slicker than ice itself.It constructs an environment where there isn’t even an element of conscience left among players.A naive character asks another how could you? One word answer – Practice! Caron demonstrates just how slippery snakes can get.
Sharper’s episodic storyline flows smoothly up until its final sequence.The game is over. His deception brought down other dirty accomplices who were also driven by greed.Instantly after that, however, we see a sharp deviation from this trajectory leading to an unpredictable twist as required by any shocking climax.Sometimes really smart people act dumb despite themselves when everything inside them would know better.It doesn’t work. Very dull ending to Sharper
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