A Crooked Somebody (2018)

A Crooked Somebody is the kind of lean, smart thriller that sneaks up on you: it’s less about gunplay than the quiet terror of watching a man talk himself into deeper and deeper trouble. Rich Sommer is terrific as a fame-hungry fake psychic whose gift isn’t the supernatural so much as the ability to read a room and bend a story, while Clifton Collins Jr. brings a volatile, wounded intensity that keeps every scene humming with danger. Director Trevor White keeps the tone taut and slyly satirical, letting the film skewer our appetite for sensational headlines even as it builds real, nerve-tightening suspense. If you prefer clean heroes and tidy morality it may feel uncomfortably gray, but if you like character-driven crime stories where the biggest trap is ego, this one is absolutely worth your time.

A Crooked Somebody wants to be a slick little morality thriller about a fraud who mistakes a crisis for a branding opportunity, and the setup is genuinely promising. The problem is it doesn’t always know whether it’s aiming for dark satire, character drama, or straight crime suspense, so the tone can feel uneven and the twists start to look a bit pre-planned. Rich Sommer plays the lead with a deliberate blandness that fits the character but doesn’t always give the movie the charisma it needs to keep you hooked, even as Clifton Collins Jr. brings the more volatile energy. If you like small-scale, talky thrillers with flawed people and can tolerate a finale that gets more polished and slightly convoluted than the early grit suggests, you’ll find some value here; if you’re after a tightly wound, surprising crime story, this may test your patience.