Watching the trailer for Caught Stealing, you might’ve found yourself surprised to see Darren Aronofsky’s name pop up. The director is best known for bleak-as-hell, often revolting psychological dramas, but his latest — according to the trailer, anyhow — looks like a sleek popcorn crime thriller. And it mostly is. If “Directed by Steven Soderbergh” had shown up in the end credits, it would have made perfect sense.
But a few key elements are pure Aronofsky, particularly some viscerally brutal moments — a blown-out knee, a super-glued surgery scar, a shard of wood used as a makeshift shiv — and his signature bleakness, which peeks out through the good vibes.
Caught Stealing stars Austin Butler as Henry “Hank” Thompson, a bartender in late-’90s New York City — a setting Aronofsky employs superbly, with the story jumping between boroughs without feeling hacky. Thompson was a star baseball prospect in high school, but a drunk-driving accident ended his career. Now he’s a bitter but genial has-been.
Once again, Butler proves he has the leading-man sauce. A role like this can easily devolve into sadsackdom, but Butler’s megawatt charm elevates him out of the grime, especially when he’s paired with sort-of girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz). Kravitz and Butler, two of our coolest movie stars, have a palpable chemistry. It’s plain to see why the dating rumors are flying.
The duo is part of a tapestry of colorful characters and performances, as is often the case with a down-and-dirty crime picture. Regina King — in her highest-profile role since the one-two punch of her Oscar-winning performance in 2018’s If Beale Street Could Talk and her Emmy-winning performance in 2019’s Watchmen — brings gravitas as hard-bitten police detective Roman. Matt Smith steals scenes as Thompson’s mohawk-sporting next-door neighbor Russ. Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio are terrifying as a pair of Hasidic hit men. Russian thespian Nikita Kukushkin plays a human battering ram named Pavel, and Griffin Dunne is nearly unrecognizable as the eccentric owner of the bar where Thompson works. Even Bad Bunny and Action Bronson hold their own among the heavyweights. Most importantly, Thompson has an adorable (and integral) cat sidekick named Bud.
Caught Stealing
The story, adapted by author Charlie Huston from their own novel, melds a classic Hitchcockian wrong-man plot with the type of low-level, high-stakes crime you’ll find in an Elmore Leonard paperback. Clues are set up cleverly, twists come bursting through the door, and characters are disposable. Money is all that matters.
“Breezy” isn’t the sort of descriptor that tends to be associated with Aronofsky’s work, but Caught Stealing is just that — a fast-paced, slick and deceptively brutal crime film. It’s also another feather in Butler’s cap as one of Hollywood’s few bankable leading men. It’s perfect for a late-summer trip to the movies.
