I recently read that Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s movies have no dramatic tension because everything typically works as it should. They’re a bunch of chums doing a crime that always works out, so there’s really no stakes other than getting to see how the machine works. It’s hard to argue with that, but on the other hand, I don’t really care because sometimes seeing how a machine works is fun when it’s fine-tuned and runs like a dream. But if you’re looking for dramatic tension from Soderbergh, his latest, No Sudden Move, is a taut inverse of the Ocean’s films where criminals work together insofar as the next opportunity for betrayal. If the Ocean’s movies are a bit of fun escapism, then No Sudden Move is how the world actually operates with the small-time crooks backbiting for scraps while the big fish calmly swim and gobble up everything in their path. It’s a wicked good time.
Set in Detroit in 1954, criminal Curt Goynes (Don Cheadle) is looking for work and gets some from facilitator Doug Jones (Brendan Fraser), who’s putting together a crew for a “babysitting” job. Curt joins Ronald Russo (Benicio Del Toro), who happens to be sleeping with Vanessa Capelli (Julia Fox), the wife of Italian mob boss Frank Capelli (Ray Liotta), as well as the smarmy Charley (Kieran Culkin). The trio is tasked with holding the family of accountant Matt Wertz (David Harbour) hostage while Matt retrieves an important document for the crooks. But as these things often do, the jobs goes sideways and Curt and Ronald see a chance at a bigger score if they can survive a barrage of twisted schemes.
Ed Solomon’s script is a cold, unforgiving affair. This is not a movie about camaraderie and friendship but about short-lived mutual interest. Almost everyone is acting in his or her own self-interest with the most sacred bond—family—repeatedly shattered. Before the film has even completed its first act we know that Ronald and Vanessa are cheating together and that Matt is also stepping out on his wife with secretary Paula (Frankie Shaw). We can see the consequences of Matt’s actions (his infidelity makes him a weak link to get the document) through the unfolding horror in the faces of his wife Mary (Amy Seimetz) and children Matthew (Noah Jupe) and Peggy (Lucy Holt). No Sudden Move constantly tells us that trust may be a foundation, but it’s a weak and brittle one; people typically act for their own enrichment until they’re so powerful they no longer need to pay attention to money changing hands.
This kind of unrelenting bitterness and cynicism may be off-putting to some viewers, but in Soderbergh’s hands it goes down like a stiff drink. Soderbergh has reached the point in his career where I think we’re taking him for granted. He may not always hit it out of the park (The Laundromat and Let Them All Talk serving as recent examples), but he’ll rebound just as quickly showing that he’s got creativity and style to spare (Logan Lucky and High Flying Bird also serving as recent examples). No Sudden Move, with its unique angles, mahogany hues, and gorgeous lighting makes for a singular period piece that draws us further into a world that feels like the post-war era with the varnish stripped off. The historical and social commentary is unmissable (the film isn’t set in Detroit on accident and pointedly knocks “urban renewal” as just a euphemism for removing anyone who isn’t white from the city), and gives the movie a texture to let you know that while Soderbergh is no stranger to crime stories, this is far more Traffic than Ocean’s Eleven.
It’s also a movie that gets better the longer it goes until its third act reveals the themes that the whole picture has been headed towards. All the backstabbing and double-crosses can be a bit exhausting, but the culmination is so satisfying that it doesn’t really matter that we’re not emotionally attached to these despicable characters trying to claw out an existence. No Sudden Move is all about how the game is played, and it has an understanding that crime doesn’t pay unless you’re in charge of all crime. I don’t want to spoil anything beyond that other than to say that Solomon and Soderbergh are aware the game is rigged, and that biting attitude feels far more apt for our current age even though the film is set in the post-war “era of good feelings” (note: good feelings may only apply to white people who consciously ignore everyone outside of their racial and class spheres).
Perhaps it’s not too surprising that the film, despite its star-studded pedigree, is headed to HBO Max rather than theaters. It’s a mid-budget crime-thriller for adults that really has no place in the blockbuster-dominated marketplace, especially where people are probably hungry for the escapism rather than films that hammer home socioeconomic inequality where even criminals can’t find a way to break the social order. And yet No Sudden Move feels like one of Soderbergh’s richer texts, a film that folks will “discover” down the road and hold up as one of his finer efforts thanks not only to his incisive direction and Solomon’s sharp script, but for what it has to say about this damn, damned country.
Rating: A-
No Sudden Move is now playing exclusively on HBO Max.