No Sudden Move (2021).
“So what’s the score?”
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Written by Ed Solomon
Starring Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, and Kieran Culkin
The Stage.
The job seems simple for Curt Goynes and Ronald Russell. Babysit a claims adjuster’s wife and kids while he retrieves an item from a safe at work for an easy payday. Unfortunately, this is a movie, so things go sideways and the two have to work together to get out…and get paid.
The Review.
The first thing I have to mention is the cast, which is filled with A players. Don Cheadle plays Curt, a gangster with an ace up his sleeve who’s looking for redemption after a job went wrong and got bloody. Benicio Del Toro plays Ronald, a racist with eyes on leaving the mob if things swing his way. David Harbour rounds out the main trio, a man who just can’t seem to get things done (aside from his secretary, that is). Rounding out the cast are Brendan Frasier, Jon Hamm, Kieran Culkin, and plenty of other cameos that I won’t spoil here because I know I really appreciated it when their faces came up on screen. Needless to say, Soderbergh called in all favors on this one, and everyone aside from the performance by the actor who played the secretary was fantastic. Not sure what she was doing, but it felt like dollar-store Anna Faris and not in a good way.
The story is one of 50’s Motor City espionage, where everyone has a secret and everyone is looking to get paid. It’s got plenty of twists and turns and the film doesn’t really show it’s hand until the very end. Unfortunately, it feels a bit messy and although I had no problems understanding what was going on, many people online have. The filmmakers aren’t holding hands here. There are also things that are just sort of implied (like a possible relationship between two neighbors) and don’t go anywhere that feel like red herrings just to add a bit of depth to the story but ultimately feel a bit pointless once the credits roll.
The cinematography is a little jarring. Detroit and it’s surrounding area look great but Soderbergh shot the film with some period accurate super-wide angle lenses which almost gives a certain fish-eye effect to the flick, a look that was sometimes so extreme that there was dark shadows in the corners of the screen and distortion around the edges. I hated this and it felt more like a gimmick than something that added to the film. The 50’s sets and clothing were all great as you’d expect from a filmmaker of Soderbergh’s caliber.
The End.
I thought No Sudden Move was a decent noir-thriller but it’s not one that I’d watch again. The story was muddy with everyone angling in every direction, a tale rife with double and triple crosses. The performances are strong, but once the film was over the whole thing seemed pretty forgettable. The strongest part of the film is the first 20 minutes, but once they leave the residence where the criminals are babysitting the housewife and her children, the film kind of runs out of steam.
