Written by: Charlie Huston
Starring: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber
Rating: [3.5/5]
If there’s one thing New Yorkers have trained themselves to do is to mind their own business when witnessing things that do not concern them. Transplants do not necessarily know to follow this, which sets off the events we see transpire in Caught Stealing. A film where a young man finds himself in a position of being in the wrong place at the wrong time as he must contend with some dangerous individuals, all seeking something they think he knows about.
Living in New York, Hank (Austin Butler) gets tasked with watching his neighbor’s cat while he visits his ailing father. When two men try to break into his neighbor’s apartment, Hank inserts himself into the situation leading not only him getting beat up by these thugs but he has now involved himself as a potential accomplice to the neighbor as others have questions for him.
Caught Stealing as a Darren Aronofsky feels so strange to say because of the straightforward nature of this narrative. Coming from the guy who primarily focuses on emotionally devastating work from the likes of Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream to something like this film feels like quite the departure but not one that results in lesser work. In fact, he creates a fascinating portrait of a time of New York filled with these types of thugs running rampant and the ability to flip the life of our protagonist. Combine this all with the endless charm of Austin Butler and you have your self an entertaining film.
If anything, this film contains a similarity to Aronofsky’s other films in the way it carries this relentless brutality. Violent actions occur and people die left and right in this film, all in the search for money. Some bystanders like Hank and some other folks in his life have to suffer because of this but this story, penned by Charlie Huston, ensures you do not grow an attachment to anyone given the bad guys involved and what they are willing to do to get what they feel they are owed. We see very quickly everyone here means business, which makes you wonder how in the world Hank will survive this whole ordeal.
The strength of this film lies primarily in its incredible cast, where different actors come into the fray and eat up every second of screen time. Even those with much less than you would like do a splendid job. The best example of this was Zoë Kravitz, who portrays Hank’s love interest Yvonne. The chemistry Kravitz and Butler strike up in the limited screen time together burns hot but then you also have Regina King, Vincent D’Onofrio, Liev Schreiber, and even Benito Martínez Ocasio (Bad Bunny) portraying this menacing presence as well. You also cannot forget Matt Smith, portraying the neighbor Russ, who sports this ridiculous mohawk. All of them help add to the gritty and harsh feeling this film seeks to evoke but all in service of the leading man, Austin Butler.
This guys just has “it” when it comes to putting films on his shoulders, being both chameleonic but also playing a leading man as he does here. As Hank, he combines a coolness the role required but also the vulnerability of having to contend with a situation he has no clue how to navigate. He must rely on his instincts but he does not have the brute strength or violent capabilities to make it out of this situation unscathed, especially considering the individuals involved. Butler does a splendid job here, and his ascendancy is something I very much welcome with open arms.
Not the typical Aronofsky film but still very entertaining, Caught Stealing allows us to continue to experience the rise of Austin Butler as a leading man but also a story that would have been a massive hit in the 80s and 90s. Getting a tight and tense thriller such as this one reminds you how little we see of these types of films in the current filmmaking landscape. It has its moments where we see the electricity of Butler and Zoë Kravitz together but also the ferocity of the dangerous criminals who do not care who they need to go through to get their money.
Films with Josh 
