"Sharper," which is now in limited theatrical release and will be available on Apple TV+ next week, allows one to imagine what Julianne Moore and John Lithgow could have done with a David Mamet screenplay from the 1980s like "House of Games" or "The Spanish Prisoner." It's one of those narrative jigsaw puzzles that feels like it transitioned from a theatrical feature to a streaming series in the mid-'10s. So just watching it unfold, moving back and forth through various cons until the final one lands on the table, provides a jolt of enjoyment. The problem is that the Mamet brand of tough-talking puzzle movie is more difficult to pull off than it appears, and writers Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka simply lack the ability to elevate this thriller beyond its foundation. Mamet's best films used dialogue as a weapon, with his characters withholding and revealing information like Ricky Jay performing a magic trick. "Sharper" clearly aspires to that aesthetic, but the whole thing is only entertaining as a diversion.


Tom, a soft-spoken young man who works at an old bookstore selling first editions of famous novels, is played by Justice Smith. Sandra (relative newcomer Briana Middleton, more than holding her own against some legends) enters Tom's shop one night, and the two have instant chemistry. They flirt and eventually go to dinner, jumping into a quick relationship. Sandra is meeting Tom's friends after only a few weeks, and the L-word is even thrown around. Then she reveals she has a brother who is in trouble. He desperately needs money, a lot of money. After Sandra's brother's safety is jeopardized, Tom agrees to obtain the funds from his extremely wealthy father, Richard (John Lithgow). Of course, Sandra disappears with the money.


Don't be alarmed. That's not a major spoiler; it's just the first of several con games and revelations revealed through Gatewood and Tanaka's vignette structure, which focuses on one character at a time, revealing their role in a script that occasionally stretches credulity as it flashes back and sometimes even sideways. The second vignette flashes back to show how Sandy became Sandra under the tutelage of a slimy con artist named Max (Sebastian Stan), who just happens to know Madeline (Julianne Moore), Richard's new wife.


"Sharper" begins with a definition of the title: "A person who lives by their wits." That should give you an idea of how intelligent this script believes it is. It was once on the Black List, and it's one of those chronological jumbles that streamers love because it drops a surprise every couple of minutes like a metronome. But there's a simple pleasure in watching the thriller machine in action. We don't get movies like this very often anymore, and I enjoyed watching the series of betrayals and double-crosses, even if I knew where it was going to end a long time before it did.


Nonetheless, it's easy to see where "Sharper" falls short. Not only do the cons become unbelievable, particularly the ease with which the final one is carried out, but you also notice that these characters are fairly shallowly drawn. Again, Mamet made excellent use of incisive dialogue. We don't need a lot of backstory if the dialogue shows that these people are smart and streetwise enough to pull off their con games. "Sharper" fails to connect the dots.


It's also far too stylish. This is a slick production that pretends to bring in desperate people but never makes its characters sweat. It has insufficient dirt under its fingernails and insufficient blood pumping through its veins. To be truly effective, it must feel more dangerous.


Having said that, it goes down easily. The script presents little challenge to the majority of the talented cast—even if it's fun to see Moore chewing on something that allows her to be more playful—but Middleton has a lot to juggle as Sandra/Sandy goes through several iterations in this twisty tale. She's very engaging, and one wishes to see her again in a similar project. Perhaps something more pointed.