No Sudden Move (2021)
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A group of gangsters is hired to blackmail a family to retrieve a secret document, only to find themselves entangled in a web of betrayal and high-stakes deception.
The story
In 1954 Detroit, Michigan, gangster Curt Goynes is recruited by Doug Jones to threaten a family as part of a blackmail scheme. Goynes, along with accomplices Ronald Russo and Charley, is sent to the home of GM accountant Matt Wertz. Their objective is to hold the family hostage while forcing Wertz to retrieve a specific document from his boss's safe. However, the plan quickly becomes complicated when the safe is found empty, leading to a desperate situation where the gangsters must navigate a series of lies, threats, and unexpected violence to secure the information they were hired to obtain.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1954 Detroit, gangsters Curt Goynes, Ronald Russo, and Charley are hired by Doug Jones to blackmail GM accountant Matt Wertz for a document. When Wertz provides fake documents, Charley attempts to kill the Wertz family, but Goynes intervenes and kills Charley. Goynes then instructs the family to lie to the police, claiming Charley broke in and Wertz killed him in self-defense. Goynes and Russo eventually travel to Ohio to retrieve the real document—plans for a catalytic converter—from Wertz's boss. They discover a high bounty on their heads and attempt to sell the plans to various parties, including a Studebaker executive and an automobile association executive, Mike Lowen. Throughout the process, they are betrayed by Jones and the mob leader Frank Capelli. After a shootout kills Jones, Goynes and Russo manage to extract the plans. However, the situation remains volatile as they are pursued by mob leader Aldrick Watkins. In the end, after various betrayals and a series of violent encounters involving Capelli's wife and a corrupt police officer, Goynes is taken to a pier by Watkins. Instead of killing him, Watkins offers him a share of the money, but Goynes only accepts his original small fee before departing for Kansas City.
- First release year
- 2021
- Runtime (minutes)
- 115
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Steven Soderbergh
- Writers
- Ed Solomon · writer
- Cast and characters
- Don Cheadle; Benicio del Toro; David Harbour; Jon Hamm; Amy Seimetz; Brendan Fraser; Matt Damon · Mike Lowen; Kieran Culkin; Noah Jupe; Craig Grant; Julia Fox; Frankie Shaw; Ray Liotta; Bill Duke
- Genres
- crime thriller; heist; neo-noir
- Themes
- betrayal; greed; desperation
- Tone and mood
- hilarious; distressing; immersive
- Premise and plot tags
- crime drama; period piece; heist
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Soderbergh's direction and the ensemble cast's performances.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 76 · scale: 100 · review count: 38
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled Kill Switch.; Craig Grant made his final appearance in the film.; The film was shot using Red Digital Cinema Monstro cameras and Kowa anamorphic lenses.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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