By George & Josh Bate
Darren Aronofsky may be one of the film industry’s most lauded directors, but the term ‘fun’ can hardly be used to describe any of his eight directorial efforts to date. The filmmaker made a name for himself with Pi and Requiem for a Dream, controversial and subversive films with unique visual styles and editing. He went on to dabble in more experimental fare with the divisive and ambitious duo The Fountain and Mother!, while earning widespread acclaim for his more grounded, dramatic work with The Wrestler, Black Swan, and The Whale. Aronofsky’s latest film, Caught Stealing, has the filmmaker depart entirely from his previous works and create something he has yet to do in his nearly 30 year career – an unabashedly, unrelentingly fun thrill ride destined for mainstream appeal.
Based on the novel of the same name by Charlie Huston (who also pens the screenplay), Caught Stealing takes place in 1998 and stars Austin Butler as Hank Thompson, a former baseball prodigy now working as a bartender on the Lower East Side. When Hank agrees to take care of his neighbor Russ’ (Matt Smith) cat, he unwittingly becomes the target of Russian gangsters, a pistol-wielding Puerto Rican criminal (Bad Bunny), a clever police officer (Regina King), and deadly Hasidic brothers (Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio), all of whom are in search of something valuable Russ left behind.
Caught Stealing is unlike anything Aronofsky has made to date. It’s neither experimental nor subversive. Neither overly dark nor abstract. Without knowing ahead of time Aronofsky directed the film, one would hardly know this is from the same director of Black Swan, Pi, and The Whale. But Aronofsky proves that he can deftly and seamlessly transition from one kind of movie to an entirely different kind of movie here.
From the beginning to the very end, Caught Stealing simply never stops moving. Aronofsky imbues the film with a propulsive energy and brisk pacing that ensures there is never for one moment a lapse in interest. The story is always moving forward, much like Butler’s Hank, who spends much of the 107-minute runtime on the run from a collective of vicious antagonists. It’s the kind of movie that is constantly building on itself from a single, seemingly mundane instigating incident. What begins as a character reluctantly babysitting his neighbor’s cat takes on twist and turn after twist and turn, cascading into a more dangerous situation for Hank as every second goes by. Some of these twists and turns come as genuine shockers, while others are more predictable, but collectively they nonetheless give the film a can’t-take-your-eyes-off-the-screen quality. The ultimate explanation for why Hank is in the middle of this terrible situation may be a bit underwhelming and yet, as a wrong-man crime thriller, it makes sense for this explanation to be somewhat mundane or less-than-spectacular.
Featuring in virtually every scene of the film is Austin Butler, who continues his strong streak of projects as grows ever closer to A-list stardom status. The Elvis and Dune: Part Two star headlines Caught Stealing excellently with a performance that perfectly conveys the stakes to the audience and subtly captures his character’s inner demons. Rocking a San Francisco Giants hat, a deep voice lingering from his Elvis days, and a sweet and sexy relationship with his girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz), Butler is the personification of cool as Hank – it takes five minutes of seeing him in the movie to know he is a true movie star. As things go from bad to worse for Hank over the course of the film, Butler ramps up his performance with a deft attention to tone. In less capable hands, an actor playing Hank may overplayed the character’s reaction to various dramatic turns and created inconsistency with the film’s generally breezy tone. Conversely, an actor may have dipped too deeply into the film’s levity and thus underplayed the key dramatic weight of Hank’s character as he goes through unimaginable stress. Thankfully, Butler strikes a perfect balance in this regard. His performance ensures that all the big dramatic moments land well, effectively linger, and convey the high stakes of the situation, while also providing enough breathing room for the audience to have a good time and chuckle along the way. With a darker story, at least on paper, and desire to be more of a fun, mainstream thrill ride, it’s a tricky tonal balance, but one that Aronofsky and Butler undertake phenomenally.
The emotion of the story comes from Butler’s character and his history as a baseball player. Hank experienced a debilitating knee injury that prematurely ended his career in baseball, subsequently leading him to move from California to New York, take up day drinking, and work as a bartender. Throughout the film, Hank exchanges phone messages and calls with his mother, during which the two touchingly convey their love for one another and shared adoration of the Giants. The inclusion of this kind of backstory often gives our lead a character just enough substance to elevate them beyond forgettable main character status, but, through various developments over the course of the movie, pays off well and gives the film a genuine heart. It may not be the kind of gut-wrenching, tear-inducing payoff found in some of Aronofsky’s other work, although it does enough to give Caught Stealing an effective emotional underbelly. Without this backstory, Hank would have been a fairly flawless protagonist, whose misfortunes solely come from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But with this backstory, Hank becomes more interesting, multidimensional, and easy to root for.
With Butler firmly as the lead, Caught Stealing features a number of strong supporting performances. Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio have great back-and-forth as brothers Lipa and Shmully Drucker, whose friendly attitudes are juxtaposed to the reports of them being more monstrous than any of the other bad guys. Bad Bunny follows up his scene-stealing performance in Happy Gilmore 2 with another exciting turn as the charismatic and threatening Colorado. Regina King has some good moments, especially as layers of her character are peeled back over the course of the film. Matt Smith, meanwhile, plays the annoying, eccentric troublemaker who kicks off the plot and is responsible for the film’s biggest laughs. Zoë Kravitz also impresses, sharing enthralling chemistry with Butler that leaves you wanting to see the duo in a romantic drama or comedy in the future. And, finally, there is another supporting player who deserves a shoutout. Bud, the cat that Hank takes care of, plays an important role, both narratively and emotionally, in the film and is afforded plenty of opportunities to shine. Aronofsky intelligently cuts away to Bud often for funny reaction shots or cute facial expressions, but the cat’s inclusion also gives Hank and the movie more broadly more emotion.
In addition to being a fun crime thriller, Caught Stealing is also a period piece. Set in 1998, the film is seeped in more organic nostalgia than the average movie or show trying to pay homage to a bygone era. Yes, there’s Jerry Springer on the TV, classic songs from Semisonic and Meredith Brooks, and plenty of ‘90s fashion, but Aronofsky doesn’t overindulge in the ‘90s nostalgia. Aronofsky restrains himself with the needle drops and never goes big and loud to scream to the audience that this is a film set in 1998. In fact, many times throughout the movie, one can even forget the movie’s late 1990s setting. Overall, this makes Caught Stealing refreshing in its approach to nostalgia and, in turn, more effective than recent ‘80s or ‘90s throwbacks.
VERDICT: 7.5/10
Acclaimed filmmaker Darren Aronofsky pivots away from experimental and deeply serious dramatic fare for Caught Stealing, an unrelentingly fun thrill ride destined for mainstream appeal. Based on the novel of the same name by Charlie Huston, the film depicts a fairly routine wrong-man plot, but is imbued with a propulsive energy and brisk pacing that ensures there is never for one moment a lapse in interest. The constantly developing story takes a number of twists and turns, some of which are genuine shockers while others play out more predictably. Featuring in virtually every scene and backed by an array of strong supporting players, Austin Butler triumphs with a performance that makes a tricky tonal balance work so well – his performance ensures that all the big dramatic moments land well, effectively linger, and convey the high stakes of the situation, while also providing enough breathing room for the audience to have a good time and chuckle along the way. Aronofsky also provides a refreshing take on a period piece by seeping his film in more organic and restrained ‘90s nostalgia, rather than going over the top with an abundance of needle drops and other lazy attempts at nostalgia bait. Caught Stealing may not be what one expects heading into a Darren Aronofsky movie, but it showcases an entirely different dimension to the lauded director’s filmmaking prowess and makes for undeniably entertaining viewing.