I am convinced that Steven Soderbergh could have any script ever written dropped into his lap and he’d at least make an interesting film out of it. That’s not to say that every entry in his filmography is a runaway success, but the veteran director has an undeniable knack for converting written material into movies that are either thought-provoking, visually stunning, downright bonkers, or all of the above. I admire directors who take chances on different kinds of films, are choosy about their projects, and showcase their varied sensibilities from one effort to the next. You never know what you’re going to get with Steven Soderbergh, and I think that’s a marvelous way to own your art. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that his latest film, No Sudden Move, is just as smart, visually stunning, and fun as I’ve grown to expect from a wonderful talent like Soderbergh.
From a visual standpoint alone, No Sudden Move is a captivating film. Soderbergh (who also serves as cinematographer, under the pseudonym Peter Andrews) uses wide-angle, nearly fish-eye lenses to spatially distort confined areas, adding a layer of tension to what are already largely claustrophobic scenes. Further, no matter the screen you may be watching on, No Sudden Move looks like it’s being viewed on an old television set – something that mimics its mid-’50s setting. There are moments that resemble the old “pan and scan” technique used when converting big screen films to Sunday afternoon TV matinees, as well as a distorted “softening” of the images. It’s a really neat trick that I admit may throw some viewers off, but the nostalgia factor it produces easily gives flashbacks to old couches and even older movies.
Thematically, No Sudden Move might return Soderbergh to his familiar stomping grounds of crime, criminals, and corporatism, but his presentation and tone harken once again back to the 1950s and ‘60s by thoughtfully aping the pseudo-noir psychodramas and paranoid juvenile delinquent movies coming out at the time (think László Benedek’s The Wild One and Richard Brooks’s In Cold Blood – films that seem terrified of both themselves and the young people at the heart of their central crimes). Although not about youth culture or juvenile delinquency in any plain way, No Sudden Move nonetheless operates as an effective comment on how wealth and class breakdowns contribute to crime – specifically how greed and entitlement at the highest levels of corporate America can trickle all the way down to street level, corrupting everything they touch along the way. In addition, while not an overtly political film, No Sudden Move does pepper in some cleverly placed jabs at the then common practice of red-lining, as well as the historically rocky relationship between the auto industry and environmentalism – subjects we now know to have all greatly contributed to a myriad of current racial, economic, and climate-related crises.
Soderbergh (with the help of scriptwriter Ed Solomon), ties it all together by presenting this richly layered caper film through the eyes of two men who are continuously looking up from the bottom of the criminal ladder, regardless of their talent, gumption, or past loyalties. Curt Goynes and Ronald Russo (Don Cheadle and Benicio del Toro, an excellent pairing on all accounts) could be called perpetual losers, but when they stumble into what is supposed to be an easy job, they find themselves cogs in a machine much larger than they had ever imagined. As the pair climb the rungs, the disturbing nonchalance with which the real villains carry out their nefarious deeds becomes clear, culminating in the best written diabolical rant you’re likely to hear all year, courtesy of an irresistibly cynically Matt Damon.
Each intricately laid-out double-cross opens the plot further, but never enough to make it convoluted or bogged-down. The cast widens as well, with superb supporting turns from Brendan Fraser, David Harbour, Julia Fox, Ray Liotta, Amy Seimetz, Jon Hamm and the spectacular low-key menace of Bill Duke. On paper, this cast alone secures a hit, but when Soderbergh’s unique artistry and vision are added to the mix, sparks and bullets fly.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.