Not necessarily known for easily approachable cinematic stylings when it comes to his filmography, Darren Aronofsky (known best for heavy, unflinching dramas like Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan, and most recently The Whale), it’s interesting to see the renowned filmmaker take on a project that, at least on the surface, feels like his most mainstream outing yet – a darkly comedic, crime caper starring one of the biggest movie stars in the world, Austin Butler.
Based on Charlie Huston’s novel of the same (and the screenplay being penned by Huston as well), Caught Stealing takes place in 1998, New York, and follows Hank (Butler), a former baseball prodigy whose career was cut short by a knee injury he obtained in a drink driving accident that also killed his best friend. Now a bartender living in New York, and in the flourishes of a hot and heavy new relationship with paramedic, Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz), Hank is asked by his outlandish, crass, and punk-rock British neighbour, Russ (Matt Smith), to look after his cat while he sees to his sick father back in London.
But, while Russ is gone, a cavalcade of goons from the New York criminal underworld start terrorising the building looking for Russ and a mysterious key that would potentially lead to a large sum of cash. Unwillingly brought into Russ’ mess, Hank must quickly find out whether the Russians, Hebrews, Puerto Ricans, or crooked cops are going to be his allies, or his demise.
“It’s interesting to see [Darren Aronofsky] take on a project that, at least on the surface, feels like his most mainstream outing yet…”
Right from the opening scene, Aronofsky injects so much dynamic energy into the film. The grungy, filmic cinematography (shot by longtime collaborator Matthew Libatique), banging rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack, and immersive production design, which all together brings late 90s New York to life on screen. This is a truly impressive looking film for a story that is quite simple. Which on a technical level, isn’t a shock from to artists like Aronofsky and Libatique, but it is an aspect of the film which elevates the source material to a level that, if perhaps under the direction of less of an auteur filmmaker, may have not sustained the energy it does throughout.
Aronofsky’s unflinching tendencies are very much so exacerbated in the surprisingly violent moments of Caught Stealing. While it’s not surprising that a film set in the criminal underworld of New York contains violence, the mixture of the actual gore and bone-crunching sound design really heightens the brutality. There were a few moments where the audible winces of the audience solidified the fact that the shocking violence was quite effective, catching the audience off guard. However, there are also moments of violence, particularly a head-butting obsessed goon, that do elicit a lot of laughter. Even though Aronofsky is no stranger to elaborate set pieces (look towards the dance scenes of Black Swan, or wrestling scenes in The Wrestler), the action in Caught Stealing feels like the most choreographed, exciting set pieces in his career.
Tonally, Caught Stealing is an energetic, entertaining and darkly funny wild ride. The immediate electricity that Austin Butler brings to the screen oozes movie star energy, and his husky charisma makes Hank quite the likeable protagonist. The electricity continues sparking with the hot chemistry that is shared between Butler and Kraviz. But Huston’s story, and Kravitz’s performance, do a great job of also making Yvonne an immediately likable character. The same can be said for the cat too, who plays a very vital role as the mystery unfolds.
The humour predominantly comes through the litany of side characters involved within this caper, specifically Yuri Kolokolnikov and Nikita Kukushkin, who are hilarious as the Russian heavies, and Benito A Martinez Ocasio (aka Bad Bunny) as the slick and smooth Colorado. However, they are only outshined by the limited, but impactful, screen presence of Vincent D’Onofrio and Liev Schreiber as the Hebrew gangsters who won’t drive on Shabbat, but will kill people. The dynamics these characters share with each other, and with Butler, is wildly entertaining. But, it’s Regina King as Detective Roman who brings such a New York grit to the film, constantly reminding the audience through her gravitas that there is some real shit going on underneath all the chaos.
The unfortunate aspect of Caught Stealing is that the story itself does fall into some generic and predictable holes. While the performances are engaging, the actual story about Hank is less so, and the flashbacks used to build those character foundations feel more allegorical to the plot, rather than emotionally grabbing. The crime mystery of the film can also feel a little lacklustre, as it can feel like rehashes of other crime films that have done the grungy, street-level brutality before, and for the most part, better. The structure and pacing is also quite all over the place, moving back and forth between characters and plots a little too often. Caught Stealing never feels boring because of its chaotic energy, but it does feel messy.
Caught Stealing is by far Aronofsky’s most mainstream film, with an easy to follow crime caper being the light foundation for a movie that is full of chaotic energy, dark humour, and movie star charisma. But, just because it feels mainstream, doesn’t mean Aronofsky, Butler and co. don’t elevate the slightly generic material to another level that other filmmakers potentially couldn’t.
Caught Stealing is in Australian cinemas August 28.
