Familiar faces frolic in enviro-caper ‘No Sudden Move’

Don Cheade, Benicio del Toro, Jon Hamm... we could go on|

Now Streaming

“No Sudden Move” is streaming on HBO Max. Rated R. Running time 1:56. Visit play.hbomax.com.

Steven Soderbergh, back to working often and well, brings his famous qualities—intricate plotting, ingenious shooting, and stellar casting—to his latest film, “No Sudden Move.” This sinuous crime caper unfolds in gorgeous 1954 Detroit, some four decades before Soderbergh came to the city for “Out of Sight,” one of the high points in American cinema. Better yet, we’re treated to another Don Cheadle performance—he plays Curt, an aging hustler just out of prison and looking for work.

He meets a connected guy named Doug (Brendan Fraser, putting the heavy in mob heavy), and fears he’s been led into a setup “You going bring me into some sketchy s---?” Curt figures Doug’s offer—five grand to “babysit” a family for three hours while daddy retrieves a valuable document from work—is too good to be true. He’s soon introduced to his criminal counterparts, Ronald (Benicio del Toro) and Charley (Kieran Culkin), forming a distrustful, duplicitous, and dangerously aggressive trio.

Their mark, General Motors accountant Matt (David Harbour), drags in his wife Mary (Amy Seimetz, a masterful actress who should be offered every role) and son Matt Jr. (Noah Jupe) into his own implosion. Curt and Co. seek him out in the first place because his secretary has the combination to the boss’s safe, and Matt has the combination to the secretary. Paula (Frankie Shaw, in a small but gangbusters role) turns the screws on Matt at the same time he’s trying to sort out his angle financially and filially. She had the balls to actually leave her old man and when Matt predictably balks at leaving his wife with her kidnappers, their dialogue is hilarious:

“You chickened out!”

“No, I decided it was wrong!”

Other vultures circling the plot include Ronald’s brassy girlfriend Vanessa (Julia Fox, playing a character who could be a cunning great aunt of her iconic character in “Uncut Gems”) and police detective Joe Finney (Jon Hamm), a sharp guy we sense doesn’t go entirely by the book.

It’s not until later in the film that we meet the mob bosses pulling these strings: Frank Capelli (Ray Liotta, graying quite gracefully) and Aldrick Watkins (Bill Duke) an ultimate badass perpetually wearing in dark sunglasses. Our bumbling heroes are squids for the sharks, who follow the secret document around and wait to see where the big briefcase of money ends up.

Del Toro hasn’t had as much fun in years, like when he’s three sheets to the wind and places a blanket over a woman like a parrot so he can drink his Scotch in peace. To Curt’s request that he lay off the booze for a key meet up, Ronald replies, “Wine’s good for you, ask Jesus.” For all of this pithy wittiness we can thank screenwriter Ed Solomon.

It’s difficult to avoid spoilers when speaking about the careening, cameo-filled last act of the film—the plot’s so twisty it’s like trying to grasp liquid mercury. Soderbergh plus Detroit remains a fantastic combination and, on top of the excellent narrative, the film also provides insights into the American history of environmental destruction, abandonment of public transportation, and real estate redlining. “No Sudden Move” pleasurably confounds any notions of loyalty or romance—and certainly doesn’t offer any clean getaways.

Now Streaming

“No Sudden Move” is streaming on HBO Max. Rated R. Running time 1:56. Visit play.hbomax.com.

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