by Samuel Nichols, Contributing Writer
Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing is exactly what the title implies: He copied off someone and almost got away with it. The script of his newest movie feels like he intercepted something for the Coen brothers’ inbox. An eclectic grouping of characters portrayed by talented people, a scheme of a script with money on the line, and a setting that feels like another member of the cast are all benchmarks of Ethan and Joel’s movies. But hey, if it’s still a good time, then what do I have to complain about? And this was a good time, so I’ll let some of my complaints slide (pun intended).
It’s the fall of 1998, and New York City bartender Hank (Austin Butler) finds himself put out to watch his neighbor Russ’s (Matt Smith) cat. It does not seem like a tall order until some mobsters come knocking at his door and put Hank in the hospital. Turns out Russ might have pulled Hank into some sketchy activity. With his sort-of girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz) telling Hank to get out of the crosshairs of crime, and detective Roman (Regina King) on his case to find out what Hank might know, our hero is getting different signals from the bench. But mobsters Lipa (Liev Schreiber) and Shmully (Vincent D’Onofrio) and mafiaosa Colorado (Bad Bunny) have plans to put the squeeze on Hank too. With pressure on all sides, Hank has to find out the truth of what Russ is hiding, and protect himself.
Credit where credit is due: This is a fun movie, and Aronofsky finds a way to give every member of his stacked cast some real feeling. Yes, some of these characters are tropes and clichés, but they feel like real people. Some of that is due to Aronofsky’s direction, and a lot is due to the natural talent of the cast. Butler gets to show a little range, but most of this is in his cool guy wheelhouse he found in Elvis and then Eddington. But there are more tender moments between him and his mom when they’re on the phone, and he opens up about his past a bit with Kravitz too.
No one else gets a lot other than be charming. It’s a bit of a shame because of what Kravitz, Smith, King, and Schreiber can bring to the table. We’re spread a bit too thin, and get too little time invested in each person to find a character to latch on to. And I have more to say about that later, but I want to stay positive for now.
The aforementioned talented people with a fun city like New York leads to some goofy and fun chases or pseudo fight scenes. Particularly, there are some good scenes running through a warehouse or trying to climb off a building. But the story really shines when we put those people in a room where they can talk/yell/squabble with each other. And the pacing back and forth between those action scenes and those talky scenes is strong, too. So we never feel overwhelmed by one or bored of another.
But I found the script to be barely deeper than the surface. Yes, there’s some complex stuff happening in terms of who owes who money, but it’s not emotionally or thematically strong. I think Aronofsky was trying to focus too much on Hank getting a kind of hero’s journey, which does happen to an extent. But nothing else happens that you could write a thesis about. There are some attempts at making the 1998 MLB NL wild card race feel significant, but those go nowhere, and aren’t alluding to anything worth talking about.
But the biggest travesty of all this in my opinion is Aronofsky’s colossal waste of Ms. Kravitz. Someone with storied and full career, and being as young as Kravitz is, so many other directors would be chomping at the bit to get her in a movie. And she is reduced to the stereotypical nurse who can’t give up on our hero. Her character has no personality traits other than sexual appeal and being caring. It’s like asking Peyton Manning to only throw slant passes. Literally the first shot of Kravitz is her pressing her barely clothed breasts against a glass door for Hank to see.
But that’s this movie: surface level. And it’s a good surface level movie. It’s fun and well-made and entertaining. It’s a good use of $20 to go to the movie theater. When I turn off my brain, it steals a little more credit than it’s due.
Rating: Liked It
Caught Stealing is currently playing in theaters
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