In recent years, Apple TV+ has cemented a reputation for cranking out high-quality original series (Slow Horses, Bad Sisters, Physical), which makes its latest release, Sharper, even more disappointing. Created in collaboration with indie studio giant A24, Sharper is described as a “neo-noir thriller of secrets and lies” and follows four different characters’ perspectives as they learn to scam and get scammed.
It opens with Tom, a sweet, unassuming young bookshop owner played by Justice Smith who falls into a whirlwind new relationship with sweet, unassuming book lover Sandra (played by relative newcomer Briana Middleton). But all is not as it seems. And unfortunately, that’s clear from the first minute of the film – I didn’t buy their romance for a second. Not one.
