Movie Review – No Sudden Move – Well Made Crime Drama
Table of Contents
My Rating – 4 out of 5
Plot Summary – No Sudden Move
Mike Lowen: You know what I love? When characters you’ve long since forgotten in this great novel called Life show up at the end and the whole story gets filled right in.
From No Sudden Move
Director Steven Soderbergh, of Erin Brockovich and Traffic fame, has made an excellent crime drama based in Detroit in 1954. Curtis Goynes (Don Cheadle) is a recently released con who needs the last score before he can blow town. Doug Jones (Brendan Fraser) rounds him up along with Ronald Russo (Benicio Del Toro) and Charlie (Kieran Culkin) to round up a GM employee and his family and hold them hostage. The GM employee Matt is then forced to go to his office and pick up a vital confidential document from his boss’s safe and hand it over to Charlie. His family would then be released.
But like so much else in life, things don’t go according to plan, and things start going wrong here as well. Matt’s illegal lover is his Boss’s secretary and tells Matt that the document is not there and he has to return empty-handed. At his home, the three hostage-takers realize that their simple job has just gone for a toss! An argument ensues and they also realize that none of them were supposed to make it out alive. They let Matt and his family go and recover the document to keep their part of the bargain.
But when they try to negotiate with Jones with the document, it becomes clearer that handing over the document is only going to prolong their lives a little bit so they don’t hand it over to Jones but plan an even more daring heist. They decide to go higher up the food chain and sell it to the highest bidder to make even more money for themselves. But, trust in their line of business, is a fickle mistress and it turns out that one after the other betrays their trust. The more they plan and strategize, the more betrayal and pitfalls they face. By this time, the Police have also become involved, increasing the threats to them manifold.
This is straight out of the Martin Scorses/ Quentin Tarantino playbook, minus the gore, extreme violence, and expletives. But the movie is excellently made and not for a minute does the audience get an opportunity to get bored. The twists and turns and surprises come thick and fast and keep you engaged. Though none of the performances are truly outstanding, they are all quietly competent. The period feel is also very well done, courtesy of the brilliant set designs and cinematography.
Conclusion – Movie Review of No Sudden Move
After a very long time, a mafia/crime-based movie has struck a chord with me and this really shows what a good director can do with a taut script and a commendable cast. A surprising omission for me is Matt Damon – who is not acknowledged in the credits despite having a small but substantial role! Overall, this is a movie that will interest all cine lovers – for its strong story and well-crafted execution.
For all the movie lovers out there, this is a must-watch, and if this doesn’t prove to be a commercial blockbuster, it will definitely be a sleeper hit!
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