Sharper

Directed by Benjamin Caron, Sharper details the criminal exploits of several exceedingly duplicitous characters – including Sebastian Stan’s Max and Julianne Moore’s Madeline. Filmmaker Caron, armed with a script by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, does a terrific job of initially drawing the viewer into the proceedings, as Sharper kicks off with a compulsively watchable opening stretch revolving around the tentative relationship that forms between two affable characters (Justice Smith’s Tom and Briana Middleton’s Sandra) – with the undercurrent of mystery only enhancing the compelling atmosphere (ie it’s obvious that something shady is going on here). From there, Sharper progresses into a briskly-paced, twist-laden midsection that boasts its fair share of electrifying sequences and commanding performances – with, in terms of the latter, Caron eliciting predictably terrific work from Stan and John Lithgow. (Moore, cast as a billionaire’s wife, is especially captivating here.) And although the movie is, in its final third, almost too heavy on the double-crosses and surprise revelations, Sharper does, for the bulk of its slightly overlong running time, come off as a top-notch thriller that’s as surprising as it is entertaining.

*** out of ****