'No Sudden Move' star Don Cheadle: We love crime movies because 'we like to live vicariously'

Watch: No Sudden Move cast discuss the legacy of the crime genre

Ray Liotta says American culture's obsession with the actions of horrible people ensures that the crime movie will always be at the forefront of Hollywood.

The Goodfellas leading man returns to the genre this week with Steven Soderbergh thriller No Sudden Move, in which a group of small-time crooks find that a routine job is actually part of a much larger conspiracy.

"I know that here in the States, people are fascinated with [crime]," Liotta told Yahoo.

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He added: "Luckily we don't live that kind of life, so to watch it sometimes it just pulls you in. It's intriguing and it's unbelievable what people do to people."

Liotta's co-star Julia Fox, agreed, saying crime movies "do really well" in the States and will continue to do so.

Don Cheadle, who plays crook crook Curt Goynes, said he feels "fortunate" to have been in several great crime movies, citing previous Soderbergh collaboration Out of Sight as well as his 1995 film Devil in a Blue Dress.

"It endures because it's kind of a version of the Western," said Cheadle.

Read more: Don Cheadle's War Machine was almost vice-president in Avengers: Endgame

He added: "These characters see their environment as a place to stake their claim, they're usually doing it with violence and, more often than not — especially if it's an American movie — there's a cost.

"There's always a deeper morality at play for what happens to these characters when they dare to take on what is God's job.

"We like to live vicariously through them because most of us don't want to walk into a bank or somebody's house with a mask on and a gun and try to make things happen."

In terms of which crime movies stick in the memory, Frankie Shaw — who plays the mysterious secretary Paula in No Sudden Move — cited an Al Pacino classic.

She said: "I'll just say my favourite heist movie is Dog Day Afternoon, which is a very different type of movie. But that movie just wrecks me."

Read more: Things you never knew about Goodfellas

David Harbour, meanwhile, said sharing scenes with Shaw reminded him of a memorable Billy Wilder outing from the 1940s.

He said: "Those scenes that we had together and that scene in the motel is so tragic and weird. It was evocative to me of Double Indemnity. The suits and the little rooms with the harsh lighting.

"I just love those simple, noir stories that are so brutal. It was very evocative of that to me."

No Sudden Move benefits from a vast ensemble cast, which also includes Benicio Del Toro, Jon Hamm and Amy Seimetz.

Soderbergh shot the film in his trademark efficient style, despite COVID-19 restrictions, in the autumn of 2020 — having previously been ready to go just as Hollywood was forced to lock down earlier in the year.

Read more: Steven Soderbergh almost made a James Bond film

The film was released in the States over the summer via HBO Max and received critical acclaim, with aggregator Rotten Tomatoes calculating that 91% of critics gave it a positive review.

No Sudden Move is available via Sky Cinema and NOW from 9 October and on digital download from 10 September.

Watch: Trailer for No Sudden Move