Better known for his directorial TV specials for English illusionist Derren Brown and numerous TV series including Skins, Sherlock and The Crown, Benjamin Caron’s debut feature length film from the directors chair is my favourite of the year so far. OK, 2023 has only been in existence for 51 days hence far and I’ve seen a lot of dross so far officially released in this calendar year AND I found the fifth and last chapter utterly redundant and the constant reveals were all too easily signposted and far too obvious but, but, but, I couldn’t take my eyes away from this flawed gem.
Commencing immediately with a definition for the title of the film as a noun and “one who lives by their wits”, I was immediately reminded of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction but it is to the screenplay he penned for True Romance that I was immediately drawn to in the film’s beautiful opening chapter, his film Reservoir Dogs and the character of “Mr Orange” as the template for the stories our five characters tell both themselves and the outside world they are attempting to con and with more than a hint of Danny Boyle’s Trance and a dash of Good Will Hunting, I was clearly appropriating a whole heap of praise on a film that I found too easy to unravel yet couldn’t stop watching and crucially, rather enjoying despite its flaws.
The film is split into five chapters and named after the individual protagonists of the duplicitous story being told but crucially, this is a misnomer or misdirection. Whether the chapter is entitled “TOM” (Justice Smith), “SANDRA” (Brianna Middleton), “MAX” (Sebastian Stan), “MADELINE” (Julianne Moore) or a name and actor or actress redacted for fear of spoilers in the last unnecessary chapter, the stories being told are all rehearsed to the nth degree and parts played by vagabonds living on their wits in search of money, money, money but the story isn’t theirs to tell, not yet, with the detail in the background of chapter upon chapter and the layers upon layers of a clever story well told.
Tom, Sandra, Max and Madeline all have a story and they all have a crucial “mark” in mind in their pursuit of someone else’s filthy lucre and at the heart of yet another story we have a wild and whirlwind love affair that truly illuminates an opening chapter of wealth, privilege and a smitten bookshop owner who sees the romance of his life to be “the best thing that’s ever happened to me”. From the up scale vistas of an affluent New York City we descend into its ugly underbelly in chapter two with the prescient statement of “You can’t cheat an honest man” through chapter three and a brilliant Talking Heads introduction to its headline act before the film’s longest chapter begins to unravel the lies, duplicity and desperation for money that leads to the fifth, last and unnecessary chapter and obvious ending.
The love story of the opening chapter is goddamn beautiful and a showcase for the cinematography of Charlotte Bruus Christensen. Our young lovers are brilliantly framed whether in the bookshop that dominates the early scenes through a walk in the park or the True Romance of our young lovers sat on a balcony late at night. Clint Mansell excels once more with a beautiful accompanying musical score and the soundtrack to the film is a joy all of its own, from Talking Heads to Roy Orbison, The Supremes through to the highly prescient “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” by Nina Simone.
Sharper is flawed with an unnecessary last chapter but I loved the twisted story being told and I couldn’t take my eyes away from watching this gem.
Highly recommended!
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Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.