Movie Review: ‘Caught Stealing’

Plot: In 1998 alcoholic bartender and former baseball prodigy Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) struggles to make ends meet in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Besides an intense relationship with his sometimes girlfriend Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz) and an obsession with his beloved San Francisco Giants, Hank has little going for him. However, when Hank’s punk rocker neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) leaves Hank in charge of Russ’s cat while he visits his ailing father in London, all Hell breaks loose. Before long, Hanks finds himself on the run from the Russian mob, a notorious pair of Hasidic criminal brothers in Lipa (Liev Schreiber) and Shmully Drucker (Vincent D’Onofrio), and crooked cop Elise Roman (Regina King). With few options and no choice, Hank must reconcile his past and combat his present if he wants to escape alive.

Review: As a cinephile I have complex feelings about Darren Aronofsky. At times he creates cinematic triumphs (Requiem For A Dream, The Wrestler, Black Swan) that make me think he’s one of the best to ever get behind the camera. Other times he’s so far up his own ass (Mother!, The Fountain) he might as well be prospecting for the word “pretentious” in his small intestine. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the horrifically awful Noah, one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen and a film my great friend Ken never stops reminding me that I dragged him to, every time I see him. (For the millionth time Ken, I apologize.)

Yet despite my complicated relationship with Aronofsky’s works, Caught Stealing intrigued me. The trailers made it out to be a mad cap, action thriller, from a bygone era of filmmaking three decades in the past. Throw solid actors like Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, and Vincent D’Onofrio in the mix, alongside rising stars Austin Butler and Zoe Kravitz, and I felt it my cinematic duty to at least give Caught Stealing a shot.

While not on par with Aronofsky’s best works, Caught Stealing marks a refreshing and often entertaining turn for the veteran director. Easily his most accessible and commercial fare, Caught Stealing is essentially Aronofsky pulling a Guy Ritchie with varying levels of success. Indeed Caught Stealing harkens back to one of Ritchie’s action/comedy romps from the 1990s and early 2000s like Snatch or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Caught Stealing exudes a propulsive and kinetic energy much like those Ritchie films I just mentioned, although Aronofsky’s flick at times suffers from the lack of Ritchie’s deft touch. While I appreciated the pacing, it occasionally goes so off kilter it veers slightly into parody territory.

However, despite the Guy Ritchie DNA that’s clearly embedded within Caught Stealing, the movie possesses many elements of Aronofsky’s signature style. Frequent Aronofsky collaborator and Oscar winner Matthew Libatique puts in yeoman’s work once again, shooting Caught Stealing like a 1990s action film ala Tim Maurice-Jones. However, Libatique and Aronofsky never fail to linger on the more violent moments in the film, inviting the viewer to remember that violence has consequences.

Additionally, there’s some incredibly dark moments, most notably a flashback scene where Hank gets in a car wreck and ruins his knee. It’s gruesome, brutal, and decidedly uncomfortable. Ditto a scene involving a clogged toilet that almost made me gag. Aronofsky’s never been a stranger to examining the grosser elements of the human condition and that holds true here. Moreover, a brutal and unexpected death early on reminded me how relentless and almost mean spirited Aronofsky can be. The death completely flips the narrative and takes the movie in a vastly different direction than I expected. Yet there’s also an incredibly hot love scene between Hank and Yvonne that reminded me how rare these moments of raw, sexually kinetic energy have become on screen. Aronofsky’s never been a stranger to examining the gamut of the human condition, and that holds true here.

Caught Stealing also proves to be another star vehicle for Austin Butler. Thus far Butler has gone out of his way to make interesting and dynamic choices, working with some of the best filmmakers of the 21st century. Caught Stealing is no his exception. In the hands of a lesser actor, Butler’s Hank Thompson could have been a very one note, drunk, has-been cliche. Instead Butler brings a nuance and compassion to Hank I wasn’t expecting. He’s clearly haunted by his past, drowning himself in alcohol, and unable to take responsibility for his own life. It isn’t until he’s forced to confront these things because of the actions of Russ, that Hank truly begins to evolve. His ingenuity, guile, and street smarts play a key factor. It’s truly a strong character arc where you go from pitying Hank to rooting for him. You don’t just want him to prevail against the forces aligned against him, you want the better angels of his nature to prevail against his inner demons.

Thankfully, Caught Stealing also possesses a strong supporting cast with Matt Smith giving a truly memorable performance as punk rocker Russ. Despite being an obnoxious prick most of the time, you can’t help but like him. That’s not an easy task for any actor, but Smith pulls it off. Kravitz also has some memorable moments as Hank’s would-be paramedic girlfriend. She clearly loves Hank but also knows he’s a walking disaster and unsure if he can evolve. Regina King also shines as a crooked cop despite limited screentime. However, it’s D’Onofrio and Schreiber who steal the show as the Hasidic Drucker brothers. Watching them reconcile ruthless and violent activity with traditional orthodox Judaism was a sight to see. They thread the needle between entertaining and absurd and mostly land on the right side. It makes for some truly hilarious moments of levity, something rare in a Darren Aronofsky film. One scene between Hank, Lipa, Shmully, and the Drucker brother’s Bubbe played by the wonderful Carol Kane, was particularly funny.

Personally, the weakest part of Caught Stealing for me was the script. All of the thematic elements I love were right there but something was noticeably lacking. I can’t quite explain it. It’s like a sumptuous roast that’s missing a key bonding agent to bring all the flavors together. Caught Stealing is a hefty, delicious bratwurst that’s devoid of the spicy mustard it needs to give it that zing. Even more confounding is that Charlie Huston wrote the screenplay based on his own novel. You’d think the power of authorship would transfer onto the big screen but unfortunately that’s not the case.

Nevertheless, Darren Aronofsky’s latest foray is an entertaining enough romp, backed by a star performance from Austin Butler. Pilfer this one at your leisure.

1 God Awful Blind Yourself With Acid Bad

2 Straight Garbage

3 Bad

4 Sub Par

5 Average

6 Ok

7 Good

8 Great

9 Excellent

10 A Must See

Masterpiece

Caught Stealing: 7/10