No Sudden Move is Steven Soderbergh’s most recent entry into the crime thriller and film noir genre. Releasing July 1 through HBO Max, the already-classic caper follows a group of criminals who attempt to steal a document with more far-reaching implications than they could have ever imagined.
Stars Bill Duke and Brendan Fraser spoke to Screen Rant about what made the story so compelling and how they shot in the midst of a pandemic.
Brendan, everyone in this film has dirt under their fingernails and no one can be trusted. It has a real noir vibe, which I dig. But what is it about Ed Solomon's script that stood out to you?
Brendan Fraser: That it was gonna be directed by Steven Soderbergh, full stop.
Beyond that, it's a great story in the genre film noir. I've always been a fan of Orson Welles and Stanley Kubrick, and this is not far removed from the world - albeit now rendered in color. And with a world class director, who is at home and at the top of his game directing this type of movie.
Bill, Aldrick Watkins is a man of few words, but he holds a lot of clout. Can you tell me a little bit about him and what excited you about the character?
Bill Duke: Exactly that, that he doesn't talk much because he doesn't have to. When he says something, if you do not do what he says, there are consequences. If you lie to him, there are consequences. The fact that he has the power to really deliver some real consequences, so he just lays back and points to things and nods his head, etc. I just love that about the character.
Brendan, Jones is the man tasked with recruiting all these players for the job. Who is he, and what did you want to bring that wasn't on the page?
Brendan Fraser: He's the bag man. He's got the money, he's got the plan. In a way, it's a stock character in film noir. He's the one who shows up with the offer, with the plan to see who will bite, to set things in motion for the whole rest of the movie. It's a prelude, an introduction; he announces the theme of where the movie is going.
And then from that, as we learn, what you thought it was become something else and then something else. There's a twist and a turn and a surprise around every corner. The audience isn't going to get ahead of Soderbergh in this movie.
No Sudden Move is a brilliant heist movie set in the backdrop of a racially-charged 1950s Detroit. Can you talk to me about how that adds a layer to the film?
Bill Duke: Well, we're talking about how segregation still exists. The Rights movement and stuff didn't happen until the late 60s and early 70s. In the South, you're having what they called lynchings and nickel barbecues. And there's crime in the streets of every major city that's racial.
This is a gang of people that came together and say, "No, no, no. Not here." They collectively came together, and they were feared because they would have delivered what anybody promised to deliver to them. And they had the power to do it. That was unique for me. I loved it.
Brendan, you guys actually shot in Detroit for this film. Can you talk to me about what that added to the movie?
Brendan Fraser: This was October or November of 2020, at a vulnerable point in our collective history with the pandemic. To make a movie at that time seemed like an impossible prospect. We had to delay - it was meant to go in April of 2020, but it got shut down. We weren't sure if we believed or not that it would come back.
But Soderbergh had a plan and the studio, credit to them, believed in it and knew that if they trusted him, he could do it. And there is a way to get a production of this scope mounted and done safely, and really well. I'm don't know if I'm supposed to say that, but it's a darn good movie. We had safety protocols, and all of that as a requirement to just show up to work. We were tested [often], and for good reason.
Something that I know Bill and I both noticed is that, in watching the movie, the ensemble has some sort binding agent or something about it. I think it's that it brought us closer together as an ensemble, to take care of one another on the day and have an even higher level of concern for one another's well being. That shows in the performances and the dedication that went into really wanting to get this done under very high stakes. It's a testament that when there's a will, there's a way. I take a bigger lesson from this that art can prevail throughout this kind of a challenge.
No Sudden Move is now streaming on HBO Max.
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Reviewed by Riyad
on
July 02, 2021
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