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Sharper begins with a romance tenatively blossoming between bookshop owner Tom (Justice Smith – Jurassic World: Dominion) and a young woman called Sandra (Briana Middleton), and all over a particular book in which she’s interested.
But, a few weeks in, and she has an angry brother, Jason, who needs money. He owes $350k to some bad men, and Tom feels obliged to help out because his father is rich and has that money. I did wonder if she was going to do a runner with it. Well, was I right?
Either way, given how it started with their relationship, I thought I was watching a different film entirely than the one I was expecting, since the trailer featured John Lithgow (Raising Cain Director’s Cut) shouting (worth a watch just for him, in most films), so I wondered when he was going to turn up.
Well, this is a film which deals with each character’s story in turn, starting with Tom, then moving on to Sandra, and it’s safe to say, it takes us back to a time before she and Tom met, and reveals her backstory. If I was to go into detail about this, I would reckon that would be a spoiler.
The film also takes in sleazy chancer Max (Sebastian Stan – The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), self-made businessman Richard (Lithgow) and his wife, Madeline (Julianne Moore – Lisey’s Story), but as the stories start to entwine, what is real and what is Memorex?
Well, Lithgow barks at one character (and it’s in the trailer), “Let me give you a piece of advice. If you’re going to steal, steal a lot!”
The soundtrack also features the classical music piece King Arthur Part 3: What Power Art Thou, which I thought came from The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, but not so, it seems. It’s been many years since I saw that, and a 4K release of that would be awesome, but that film was a separate work by Michael Nyman.
Sharper does jump about in time, going backwards and forwards, and does get rather twisty-turny – sometimes rather too much for its own good, as well as being a bit daft, but it’s enjoyable nonense for its running time and doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Sharper is on Apple TV+ from Friday February 17th, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 116 minutes
Release date: February 17th 2023
Studio: Apple TV+
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Rating: 6.5/10
Director: Benjamin Caron
Producers: Erik Feig, Bart Freundlich, Brian Gatewood, Julianne Moore, Jessica Switch, Alessandro Tanaka
Screenplay: Brian Gatewood, Alessandro Tanaka
Music: Clint Mansell
Cast:
Tom: Justice Smith
Sandra: Briana Middleton
Max: Sebastian Stan
Madeline: Julianne Moore
Richard Hobbes: John Lithgow
Brenda: Hannah Dunne
Jack: Giullian Yao Gioiello
‘Tipsy’ Detective Collins: Phillip Johnson Richardson
Larusso: Kerry Flanagan
William Tyler: Quincy Dunn-Baker
Bartender: Tom White
Doorman: Patrick Cooley
Charlie: Blaise Corrigan
Housekeeper: Tracey Ilgner
Singer: Samara Joy McLendon
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.