‘Caught Stealing’: A Rock Solid, Slick, and Gritty Mid-Budget Crime Caper
Darren Aronofsky has always been a tricky filmmaker to pin down. A filmography featuring crowd-pleasing award winners like The Whale and Black Swan, alongside divisive films like Noah and Mother!, is certainly fascinating, to say the least. This inherently makes his ninth feature, Caught Stealing, fascinating since it contains all the pieces of him as a filmmaker that have stood out both positively and negatively in his work, melding them into a gritty throwback 90s crime caper that ends up as a firm comeback for the filmmaker.
Caught Stealing is the type of mid-budget crime thriller that we need more of, a madcap 107 minutes full of foot and car chases, bare-knuckled brawls, and fast and loose filmmaking. It’s certainly the most fun Aronofsky has had behind the camera for a while, following the chaotic structure of this film’s crime plot.
Still, it’s all well controlled and completely anchored by a great central performance from Austin Butler. Viewers will likely be split on the admittedly jarring tonal shifts of depressing beats next to silly crime hijinks. Still, it’s a solid enough crime thriller and the most energetic an Aronofsky film has felt in a long while.
What is Caught Stealing about?
Caught Stealing takes place in a grungy 1998 New York City. The story follows Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), a burnt-out former baseball player and mega Giants fan whose career was cut short by a tragic accident that happened years ago.
Hank now spends his days in the deep parts of NYC working at Paul’s bar and hanging out with his girlfriend, Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz). When Hank’s next-door neighbor, Russ (Matt Smith), asks him to take care of his cat, Tonic, for a few days as he leaves to see his dad, Hank starts to learn of the trouble Russ has gotten himself into.
Groups of thugs and gangsters start questioning him about Russ’s whereabouts. Now in the midst of New York City’s criminal underbelly, with everyone searching for Russ’ hidden money, Hank must try to survive in a treacherous environment where it seems that everyone is after not only him but also the people he cares for the most.
The film’s tonal balancing act and esthetics
Between the story’s dark elements surrounding Hank, who feels as if everyone close to him is always hurt after his friend’s death in a car crash, and its comedic moments involving a wide array of thugs and a cute little cat, the tonal variations that are played with here work a lot more than they don’t. It comes together in a way that incorporates themes that aren’t entirely new territory for Aronofsky, but it contains enough kinetic energy to make for a welcome change of pace in the director’s filmography.
Admittedly, the film isn’t always able to handle the tonal sways the best, and it never reaches the uniquely thrilling or funny heights of films like After Hours. But it helps when you have a movie star as magnetic as Austin Butler at the lead of your film. Between his nearly perfect embodiment of Elvis, his villainous turn as Feyd-Rautha in Dune: Part Two, and now his great lead role in Caught Stealing, Butler is not only proving himself as one of our most versatile performers but also as a bona fide movie star.
Butler’s charisma shines all throughout the film, whether it’s steamy and flirty scenes showcasing his chemistry with Kravitz or the physicality of kinetic chase sequences; he’s pretty much game for anything here. Simply put, the film’s tonal inflections and manic nature would likely fall much flatter if he weren’t the anchor of this film.
The entire cast of rogues gallery characters also manages to be memorable in a prime Guy Ritchie sort of way. Actors like Bad Bunny and Regina King bring their own sense of levity to the film’s goofy nature by giving all their interactions with Butler a different sense of chaotic energy in a variety of fun ways that keep the film from being tired.
Even visually, the film brings a familiar but welcome flavor to its cinematic palette. The gritty grime of New York adds to the film’s vibes, yes, but it succeeds most in making NYC feel lived in side by side with the 90s setting. Graffiti and subway stations fill every frame, which emphasizes the blazing energy of the city, but the film also knows when to let its sad and running gags sit well with the camera.
The film’s car and foot chases are electric throughout. Aronofsky’s flow in direction here comes across as the most fun he’s had directing a movie in recent memory. The plethora of tracking shots and zoom-ins on top of Butler’s already being game for anything melds the simultaneous cartoony and gritty nature of the crime caper well enough to prevent scenes of straight-up depression from feeling like complete tonal whiplash.
Final thoughts on Caught Stealing
Despite its slight issues with tonal shifts and inevitable shortcomings typical of Guy Ritchie-like crime caper features, Caught Stealing is not only a blast of a crime caper but also the best film that Darren Aronofsky has directed in years.
While the film isn’t reaching any new heights within this genre, it sells what this type of film is meant to deliver very well, and with Austin Butler’s star power acting as the final touch, Caught Stealing mostly succeeds at its loose endeavors.
Also check out: Honey Don’t! Review: A Rare Swing and Miss From a Coen Picture
