NO SUDDEN MOVE (2021)

Like the proverbial tree that falls in the wood with no one to hear, a dropped theatrical release and the one-two punch of COVID restrictions and HBO burial kept this darkly comic Steven Soderbergh/Ed Solomon period crime drama from making any noise.  Filmed in parts of Detroit where the ‘50s never left, its locations almost magically right, the first act holds its cards so close to the vest, the straightforward Industrial Espionage storyline acquires a special kick simply by coming into focus.  Ah!, so that’s why Brendan Fraser is contracting a trio of jailbird vets (Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Kieran Culkin, strangers to each other),  to ‘babysit’ the family of auto-exec David Harbour.  A perfect nuclear family held hostage while Dad sneaks into his boss’s safe to grab a top-secret report.  But naturally, since this is a fucked-up crime caper, the secret file’s been moved; the secretary with the combination is having an affair with the exec; the two men back with the hostage family begin to see they’re part of a larger setup . . . and that they’re the fall guys; Jon Hamm’s detective shows up to investigate after the thieves start turning on each other; and Matt Damon makes a startling appearance as master auto-industry puppeteer tamping down any leak about costly technical advancements.  A little patience is needed as this gets going (at the end, too), but things come together and sort themselves out admirably.  And the cast is such good company, you’ll hardly mind.  Plus, any eventual appearance by Bill Duke is certainly worth the wait.  The film may have been a little too sophisticated for its target audience, but is damn accomplished in spite of Soderbergh getting a bee in his bonnet as his own cinematographer trying to match the distortion in early CinemaScope lenses of the period.  (He may also have made some odd lens choices to be able to film in the real interiors of those small 1954 middle-class homes of the day.  (Narrow stairs; small rooms.)  Soderbergh wise to the ways self-limitations can be artistically freeing.

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY:  Per IMDb, Soderbergh’s original cast (including George Clooney, Nicholas Cage, Josh Brolin & others) had to be replaced when COVID delays resulted in scheduling conflicts.  And they say COVID had no positive effects.