Two criminals are hired to work alongside each other for an easy "babysitting" job. All they have to do is watch the family of an automotive executive, who must retrieve a document from his boss' safe. Sounds simple, until the plan goes awry.
The 1950s crime/noir/thriller No Sudden Move stars Don Cheadle and Benicio Del Toro as the hired criminals who must follow the money behind the crime. While not a true story, the film reveals a conspiracy that is based on a real event involving major automakers of the time.
Written by Ed Solomon, who previously worked with Steven Soderbergh on HBO’s Mosaic, No Sudden Move also stars David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Brendan Fraser, Ray Liotta, and Julia Fox. It is a subtle noir film, which includes the Hitchcock-famed device the MacGuffin and centers around those who get in way deeper than they bargained for.
Here are five takeaways from No Sudden Move:
1. Find the small characters in a big story
It’s about retrieving a document. But for the characters involved, it’s something more. No Sudden Move is not based on a true story but it makes a point about antitrust in the automotive industry stemming back from the 1950s, which was actually true.
That’s neither here nor there. This story points the lens at just a handful of characters within the bigger world of the Detroit automotive industry. Writers can see how focusing on a small part of a larger story can make for a compelling narrative. Whether it’s Matt Wertz (Harbour), who plays a man in the accounting department or Curt (Cheadle) and Ronald (Del Toro), who are trying to figure out who wants them killed, we see their roles as part of a bigger story.
Writers can see the focus on smaller, fictional characters in other films, including Titanic — the focus was not on the captain of the ship or a savior, but just two of its 2,400 passengers. If you find a large event or grand story you want to tell, consider turning a minor character into a major focus.
2. Smart people
Based on the genre and the story you’re telling, you’ll want your characters to come across as smart, even if they’re being duped. In No Sudden Move, the characters are intelligent in their respective fields. Even as Wertz bumbles his way through having to retrieve the document — which includes convincing the secretary he’s having an affair with to give him the combination, and hitting his boss (and the fallout that follows) — the audience can still see he’s smart.
There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the movie and many of the characters don’t realize they’re being duped at certain times. Writers can see how Solomon never makes us think they’re just dumb criminals who use brute force or that the secretary is just some throwaway character. Each one has a purpose and all are highly capable.
3. Build uncertainty
From the first moments of the movie, the viewer can see how paranoid Curt and Ronald are. We sense what they do is dangerous and that they are consistently suspicious that they’re being played. Everything from their lack of knowledge as to who is involved in the job or who hired them, to constantly worrying about being killed — Ronald insists on sitting in the backseat of the car on the initial drive with Doug Jones (Fraser) and Curt, during which Jones replies he shouldn’t worry about getting stabbed in the neck — they make us feel just as uncertain about everything we’re being told.
Writers can see how the filmmakers are taking us on a dangerous journey; how the characters react to their world and speak with context, not on-the-nose dialogue.
4. Have multiple stories going
There are many subplots going on throughout the film to keep the audience engaged and intrigued. While this may seem like an obvious factor for any film, No Sudden Move delivers it in a magnificent way, weaving tales that seemingly go into different directions.
The film follows the criminals, the executive, the detective and others as they continue with their story, in some ways never mentioning the others again. Writers can see how to zigzag through multiple stories, making each scene relevant and ensuring conflict drives the story.
5. History, today
This is a movie about a few criminals coming together to steal sensitive documents that contain intellectual property. So why make this a movie that takes place in the 1950s instead of modern day?
A crime noir has a feel. Part of the historical context has to do with part-nostalgia for the movies of the time and the darkness of the gritty Detroit landscape. Also the cars of the time, the budding automotive industry, the music, and the racial makeup of the city — which includes the automobile-inspired freeways that destroyed a large chunk of the African-American-dominant part of the city — all play a role in the telling of the story.
Writers can see how a certain time period and a setting can play a role just as much as a character. It’s a matter of finding the story, then seeing where it fits in the context of history, and even making sure there’s a contemporary twist to it. For No Sudden Move, it’s about stealing an important piece of IP in automotive at a time when competition was cutthroat and government regulations were ramping up. Timely, yet perfectly told 65 years ago.
Final thought
The types of characters and dialogue Solomon wrote for No Sudden Move show the level of content that A-list-level actors crave. Listen to the words and context and see what makes dialogue stand out.
No Sudden Move is currently available on HBO Max.