His arc in the 21st century hasn’t been linear it’s actually an irresistible hodge-podge of experiments. The closest he has to consensus masterworks are his whip-smart late-’90s films The Limey and Out of Sight, and you could argue he benefits from not having the gravitational pull of an avowed calling card. reconfigured and climbed the ladder - Traffic(2000), Erin Brockovich(2000), the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy (2001-2007) - and cashed in on prestige pictures - The Good German (2006), Che (2008). He then went through a wilderness period out of the gate - Kafka(1991), Schizopolis(1996), Gray’s Anatomy(1996), et al. He won the Palme for his debut, Sex, Lies, and Videotape(1989), and hastened the rise of American independent cinema in the early-’90s. He’s ridden many waves and slips in and out of the Hollywood machine at will. His whole career is a fascinating cross-section of the last 30-plus years of the film industry. Don Cheadle and Benicio Del Toro in No Sudden Move. As Richard Brody said, “One of the great joys of Soderbergh’s work is his immediate pleasure in the physical side of filmmaking.” His movies pop. In theory, these moves might scan as boredom or aimlessness, but in practice, there’s a palpable verve and restlessness and momentum in his work that has only accelerated since his commercial peak. Like Hitchcock, he exploits the magnetism, familiarity, and wattage of A-list movie stars as part of his sleight of hand the Dream Factory industrial complex is part of the fabric of his films. Plus he has the added distinction of being spoofed by Documentary Now! Soderbergh has evolved into a restless and increasingly experimental filmmaker, the kind of artist who sets up challenges for himself for kicks: amassing legions of movie stars and shellacking the cinematography opting for consumer-grade camera technology working within monochrome palettes casting famous non-actors in lead roles. After all, he has the triple crown of a Palme d’Or, an Oscar, and an F CinemaScore to his name. But the best answer is probably that it’s just another layer of audience deception. Soderbergh also seems like a pragmatist, so don’t discount their value as guild loopholes. The nom de plumes give a bit more freedom to play in the sandbox. The pseudonyms could be chalked up to self-awareness about the movie’s unorthodox surface texture, a tacit acknowledgement that he mucked around with the style of the film and maybe he needs a couple patsies. So, muddying the paper trail might be an effort to stave off notoriety and avoid getting painted into a corner. He’s spoken of being wary of branding, in that becoming a brand himself is a dangerous prospect. Why the ruse? It might be modesty, not wanting his name repeated in the credits to the point of parody. Pete and Mary Ann are aliases of director Steven Soderbergh, pulling triple duty on his latest twisty neo-noir crime saga. He’s listed as director of photography and she as editor of No Sudden Move (2021). Steven Soderbergh’s neo-noir crime saga creates a shape-shifting world through its off-kilter, deliberately imperfect visual style
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