While Aronofsky has made a career out of making thought-provoking dramas like The Wrestler, Black Swan and The Whale this time around he has delivered a crime thriller that Guy Ritchie would be proud of.
Written by Charlie Huston (Gotham) Caught Stealing centres around Hank Thompson (Austin Butler – Elvis) a young man living in 1990s New York while desperate to escape his past. Once destined to become a Major League baseball player that all changed when a car accident not only severely hurt his leg and killed his best friend.
Now Hank works in a bar and tries to keep to himself – well apart from his relationship with Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz – The Batman) – not that either of them would ever call it that. It’s a mundane life but it seems like that is what Hank needs to escape from the ghosts of his past.
Sadly though that mundane life is interrupted when Hank’s next door neighbour Russ (Matt Smith – Doctor Who) asks him to watch his apartment while he takes a quick trip to the UK. While Hank finds himself loving looking after Russ’s adorable cat things go horribly wrong when two Russian mobsters turn up and when they can’t find Russ they severely beat Hank.
Afterwards Detective Roman (Regina King – Ray) warns him that the case could be linked to some very dangerous people including gangsters like Colorado (Benito Martinez Ocasio – Bullet Train), Lipa Drucker (Liev Schreiber – X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Shmully Drucker (Vincent D’Onofrio – Men In Black). Soon her words come true when Hank finds out exactly what they are capable of. With his life changed forever Hank now realises he too might never escape this.
Over recent years the crime thriller genre has been largely over-run by revenge flicks and somehow the Aronofsky and Huston combination find a way to merge the two and make it different to anything that we have seen before. It takes the wit of Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrells and creates a John Wick like character that does not have the necessary skills to get his revenge. Hank can’t fight and can’t shoot to save himself so the only way he can get out of this situation is to out wit and out-think those that would happily see him dead.
Not only is Huston creative with how he uses Hank as a character throughout the film he also laces this film with twists and turns that the audience never see coming. There are moments that will completely shock you as you watch the film and Huston is also a good enough writer to have you constantly wondering which characters can be trusted and which can’t. If you want a film that keeps you guessing this is the film for you.
Also benefitting from the brilliant screenplay are the cast. Butler is amazing here. Grouped together with his stunning performances in Masters of The Air and Eddington recently Butler’s work here reveals that he is no longer a star on the rise but instead one of the most talented young actors that Hollywood has to offer at the moment. While it is hard to imagine them doing so, Butler deserves an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a haunted soul forced into a dangerous mission.
Also impressive here are Smith, Schreiber and D’Onofrio who are all nearly unrecognisable in their roles. Smith even lets his character totally take control and the result is a role that will not easily be forgotten. Credit also has to go to the talented feline that manages to steal every scene it is in as well.
Films as engaging and creative as Caught Stealing are few and far between these days. There are moments in this film that will stay with me for a long time to come – but what I will remember most here is the stunning performance by Butler and one amazingly written screenplay.
Caught Stealing is currently screening in Phuket and is rated ‘18’.
5/5 Stars.
David Griffiths has been working as a film journalist for over 25 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He currently hosts a film podcast called The Popcorn Conspiracy. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes accredited reviewer and is an alternate judge for the Golden Globes Awards. You can follow him at Facebook: SubcultureEntertainmentAus.