Caught Stealing
Rating: 5/5
By: Nathaniel Simpson
Darren Aronofsky has already proven how great of a filmmaker he is. With films like Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan, he does a great job of painting a nightmare, using the screen as his canvas for this dark and twisted journey he takes the viewer on. That's why I didn't think his newest film, a crime comedy caper that stars Austin Butler, wasn't going to be so great. I was intrigued to see what vision he had when crafting this picture, but I didn't think Caught Stealing would have won me over like it did. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie when I went and saw it, absolutely loving every minute of this world Aronofsky put us in. Now being a few days after checking out his latest film, I have found myself loving this movie more and more, with aspects like the ensemble casting, cinematography, great story and directing really highlighting the fantastic parts of this film.
Butler plays Hank Thompson, a star baseball player in high school who is now a bartender in New York, possibly struggling with alcohol addiction and trying to start some sort of romantic relationship with Yvonne (Zoë Kravtiz), a girl he consistently hooks up with. His life is very mediocre and nothing special, which all changes when his neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) asks him to take care of his cat as he needs to go out of town due to a family emergency.
What started out as a normal pet-sitting job turns into Hank running from various different mafia members, as Russ owes money to different crime organizations in New York. Hank's ordinary life is now flipped upside down and he must do everything he can to not only protect himself from these dangerous criminals, but also protect the ones he holds the closest to him.
I'm going to be honest - I don't think the trailer for this film looked that good when I saw it in the theaters. It would play before almost every movie, and every single time I saw it, the more I didn't feel that excited for it. So, when I went and sat down in the theater to see what Aronofsky had in store for us, I was highly doubtful I was going to enjoy this one. Yet, that's why I'm so appreciative of the trailer because I felt like it kept out all of the great things about this film, making the viewer have to watch everything good about it in the theaters.
This movie is a fun rollercoaster from beginning to end, with Aronofsky keeping you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Not only is it a massive crime caper with extremely different characters and a bunch of moving parts, but it also works as a grounded dark-comedy film that benefits from Butler's boy-next-door performance. The movie throws the audience, and Butler's character, into this complex world of crime organization and we find out everything as Hank does throughout the movie. The audience feels related to Hank in the sense of we are just as confused as he is as different things happen to him through the course of the runtime, which I think works very well as it makes Hank such a likable protagonist.
The pacing and directing style from Aronofsky is fantastic, with him really capturing this world that he wants to bring us into. The main takeaway from his direction style is the cinematography and the decision to shoot on film, which I think adds so much to the movie as a whole. The city of New York is a character itself in this movie, and Aronofsky captures so much of it throughout the movie. In addition to bringing this city to life, the cinematography from Matthew Libatique is simply beautiful and has such great stylistic shots and segments that tie the entire film together. Who would've thought seeing Butler throw up all over a door would be such a great cinematic shot?
Not only does Butler give such a standout performance here, but the ensemble cast consisting of Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Benito Martinez Ocasio (better known as his stage name, Bad Bunny) are all so great here. They each embody their performances so well, and disguise themselves into these characters for the entirety of the film. When watching this movie, it's one of those feelings where you don't see the actor playing the character, but rather the character being gloriously acted out on the screen. However, there is no doubt Butler is the star of this show. He is fantastic as the character of Hank, adding so much nuance and emotional baggage to this character that is reflected in his subtle portrayal of this character. This movie shows how far he has gone since his role as Elvis a couple of years ago.
I really liked this movie when I walked out of the theater, but the more time passes since I've seen it, the more I truly like it. This movie simply works on every single level, and it is such a fun time at the movies. These are the kind of movies that NEED to be seen in theaters so you can appreciate every single aspect of the hard work and dedication that went into making it. This movie deserves much more praise and acknowledgement than it actually received.
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