Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writer: Charlie Huston
Stars: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz
Synopsis: Burned-out ex-baseball player Hank Thompson unexpectedly finds himself embroiled in a dangerous struggle for survival amidst the criminal underbelly of 1990s New York City, forced to navigate a treacherous underworld he never imagined.
Much has been made, and will continue to be made, about the auteur theory. In this day and age of (way) too much information, we can even troll through trailers looking for signs of a director’s personal stamp on even the slightest bit of footage. Prior to release, this was the case for Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing. And this has not stopped, even in early reviews of said film. Many comparisons, some earned, some not, have been made in the few days it has been available. Despite this, Aronofsky’s core is quite evident here and it is to the film’s great advantage. His emotion-driven focus in the quiet moments elevates the film from simply fun to thought provoking.
Caught Stealing introduces us to Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), a NYC transplant from the California Bay Area who works as a bartender and has a possible relationship on the horizon with paramedic, Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz). Set in 1998, the film manages to set the tone of that time nearly perfectly. The lack of technology, the griminess of the city, even the costume design from Amy Wescott manages this with aplomb. Despite being our hero, Hank is certainly not perfect. He drinks too much, his friends are mostly degenerates, and he struggles with commitment.
As shown in flashback, Hank also has a bit of past, and was on the cusp on being drafted into professional baseball. Much of his personal potential was lost when he was involved in an automobile accident that also killed his best friend, Dale (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai). However, this did not kill his love for baseball, or his beloved San Francisco Giants, as evidenced by his daily calls to his mother that usually end with “I love you too, Mom. Go Giants.” He even tries to impart knowledge to Yvonne, much to her playful chagrin. Luckily, this does not affect their chemistry one bit, as evidenced by each and every scene that Butler and Kravitz share. If anything, the audience will crave more from the two of them, hoping for a real happy ending.
Hank, living in a run-down apartment, is also friends with his neighbor, Russ (Matt Smith), a British punk, who also may have some less-than-legal employment. Hank’s agreement to watch Russ’s cat, Bud, while he is visiting his sick father ends up putting Hank in very real danger when Russian mobsters, Aleksei (Yuri Kolokolnikov) and Pavel (Nikita Kukushkin) come looking for Russ and take out their anger on our hero. This sets off a series of events, including a hospital stay, visits from police Detective Roman (Regina King), avoidance of Hasidic brothers (Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio), an impromptu trip to Shea Stadium, and the list goes on. Happily, Bud the cat is along for the vast majority of the film and is a welcome addition to Hank’s life, no matter how much he might deny it. Given that Hank spends the runtime surrounded by dangerous enemies, Bud gives him someone to care for, even if he’s a biter.
Now, this all seems like a lot, and it very much is. The responsibility of all of this adventure rests squarely on the shoulders of one Austin Butler. And oddly, this is where the Aronofsky of it all comes in. At his best, he leans on movie star performances and puts his characters through the ringer. He is more likely to do this effectively with his leading women (especially Jennifer Lawrence and Natalie Portman in mother! and Black Swan, respectively), but nevertheless, despite the madcap adventures inherent in this script from Charlie Huston, there is a deep undercurrent of sadness in this story. More than anything, Caught Stealing focuses on the poisons of running from your problems, regret, and living in the past. It also has a constant focus on the mother-child relationship, though nowhere near as unhealthy as in his previous work.
This may not be the best performance in an Aronofsky movie (that is a tall order), but it creates a particular challenge for Butler. Because of the literal run through New York City, there is little time for Hank to deal with the pain and trauma that he has experienced in his past and is currently experiencing in the present moment. And yet, in those few instances where he has a moment to breathe and process emotionally, Butler knocks it out of the park. It has become popular to detail that when a movie star “carries a movie” it is a pure negative about the film. But Butler’s casting is someone’s choice, and that should be lauded.
There are certainly moments that strain credulity, especially connected to what the human body can go through after surgery, but because of the nature of the film, it can be brushed aside. More importantly, Butler is so watchable because we want to believe in him, we want to believe that he can survive and finally do better. As he pushes his body (which is on full display more than once) to the limit, it is next to impossible not to pump your fist at each increasingly narrow escape. Also, this is not even standard movie star stuff in which he is untouchable. Butler manages to thread the needle between lovable loser and matinee idol in a way that few have been able to in this most recent generation.
One can view Caught Stealing as an extremely fun action-driven movie, and there is no world in which that is incorrect. Yet, when looking a bit deeper, it is so much more than that. It is easy for us to not own up to our mistakes and take our piece of the responsibility. As Hank journeys to a sense of understanding about himself, we feel Butler trying to distance himself from these errors through sex, drinking, and even violence. And who among us has not tried to create that same gap between our worst moments and our daily lives. But Caught Stealing shows us that no matter how fast we run, no matter how far we get from home, our past and present live inside of us, waiting for us to finally learn our lesson.
