NO SUDDEN MOVE

Directing: B+
Acting: B
Writing: A-
Cinematography: B+
Editing: B+

What exactly defines a “noir,” anyway? I’ll freely admit I could be off base here, but when I think film noir I think 1940s, black and white, crime drama, maybe mystery. Lots of stark imagery, lots of shadows. I may have a narrow idea of what qualifies for the genre. I have long thought of Blade Runner as “future noir” because of its blend of crime drama and clear 1940s aesthetic influences, even though it was set decades into the future.

Hmm. “A genre of crime film or fiction characterized by cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity.” Okay, fine. No Sudden Move definitely fits the bill.

Of course, so could countless other crime dramas, particularly ones—as this one does—that double as a period piece. What distinguishes No Sudden Move as a “noir film” as opposed to simply a crime drama that happens to be set in 1950s Detroit?

The literal French translation is black film. A curious point, given the story and setting here, Detroit at the height of its prominence in America, when it had 1.8 million people and was the fifth-largest city in the United States (behind, at the time, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles); the city ranks 14th today, having declined in population by nearly 64% over the past seventy years. Furthermore, several of the characters are Black, with Don Cheadle getting top billing. There’s something you don’t see in “classic noir,” but it certainly gives new meaning to the idea of film noir.

The rest of the principal cast is either Black or white, although one of them is Latino: Benicio del Toro, who gets second billing. He and Cheadle play Ronald and Curt, respectively, who are hired along with the young white guy Charlie (Kieran Culkin) to “babysit” a family at their house while the dad (David Harbour) is escorted to the office of his boss (Hugh Maguire) to steal an incriminating document about the automobile industry in his safe.

It’s quite clear that a lot of actors have great respect or Steven Soderbergh as a director, and are either eager or happy to take part in often large ensemble casts for his projects, regardless of the medium. Lately Soderbergh is using HBO as the conduit for his output, most recently with Let Them All Talk, starring Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen and Diane Wiest as old friends on a cruise. That movie and this one could not be more different, except that they serve as the latest example of how prolific and eclectic Soderbergh is and has long been. Plus—and this is key—they are the kinds of movies that get little support for major studio releases in movie theaters anymore, and so they get released direct to streaming.

This is almost certainly less lucrative for Soderbergh, but all evidence points to his being more creatively fulfilled. And when it comes to No Sudden Move, a whole lot of name actors seem to agree, with the cast also including the likes of Brendan Frasher (almost unrecognizable), John Hamm, Ray Liotta, Matt Damon, and even Noah Jupe as David Harbour’s teenage son.

If I had any particular criticism of this film, it would be that, as is typical of films of this type, the women aren’t given enough to do. A fair number of women get speaking parts, and No Sudden Move at the very least passes the Bechdel Test, and a key twist near the end involves one of the women and is impossible to see coming—all of which I appreciate. None of this changes the fact that every woman onscreen, including even Amy Seimetz as David Harbour’s wife, are fundamentally secondary not just to the plot, but to all of the men involved in it. I want to see a crime noir that is “modernized” in a way that gives women equal footing in the way the plot unfolds, rather than them just being angry or resentful about their husbands’ behaviors and personal associations.

That said, we take what we can get, and among the men at least, this is a hearteningly diverse cast. And the script, by Ed Solomon (Men In Black), brings all these characters together in uniquely satisfying ways. That “babysitting” job of the aforementioned family goes sideways very early on, and every turn that follows is just unpredictable enough to be not overdone, and the story remains consistently compelling from there to the end. When it comes to crime dramas, No Sudden Moves holds up to the tenets of the genre.

These two experience a lot of close calls.

Overall: B+