Sharper tells an interweaving story of grifters and billionaires in Manhattan and opens by telling us that a “Sharper” is a person who lives by their wits. 

Tom (Justice Smith) is an unsuspecting book shop owner who meets the love of his life Sandra (Briana Middleton) when she stops by his store. Whilst Max (Sebastian Stan) is a grifter whose mother Madeline (Julianne Moore) has recently moved in with billionaire Richard (John Lithgow). The film opens with three stories that work like a Russian doll, nesting backwards and giving us the history of some of our protagonists. And then when that information has been given to us the film snaps back to the beginning and moves forward in time playing out the results of the various grifts in play. 

As with any story about grifters I am being purposely vague on the plot line. But Sharper unfortunately just feels missing something to make it stand out from the crowd. There are very few revelations that will surprise and the film plays out in a very muted fashion. All of the performances seem dialled back and going through the motions, which is especially strange when you have someone like Julianne Moore at your disposal. 

Worst of all the final grift felt sign posted and obvious. It is merely ok in a genre that has some truly spellbinding and clever touchstones. Check out my David Mamet retrospective for some of the best grifting movies around.