'Caught Stealing' Review: A Pulpy Popcorn Flick
Aronofsky's latest evokes the nostalgia of a bygone era of action cinema.
There’s a golden ratio for film. Difficult to explain, near impossible to capture, but immediately recognizable. Lofty enough to challenge the most discerning cinephile, with the necessary pulp to thrill any viewer. Caught Stealing lives at this intersection of popcorn action, Hollywood glitterati, and slick storytelling a la the auteur.
The scene: New York City. 1998. The sunset of an era where it was still possible to disappear and start anew; provided you were able to outrun your demons. Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) is a bartender that loves his mother and mourns the baseball career that never was — and haunted by the car accident responsible for derailing those dreams. Hank is getting by, but making the best of it. He’s got a good woman by his side, Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz), and is always happy to help out a friend and neighbor. Like when his neighbor and loose cannon punk rocker Russ (a role that Matt Smith absolutely disappears into) asks Hank to look after his cat.
Everything in Hank’s dull, but simple life deteriorates from that point.
By total unfortunate happenstance, Hank finds himself embroiled in a deadly plot. Turns out that Russ has hidden an obscene amount of money from some extremely dangerous people. Rival gangs and relentless law enforcement all converge on Hank and what they think he knows. As for Hank: he has a cat to care for, loved ones to protect, and just wants to call his mother one more time before the worst happens.
Caught Stealing is adapted for the screen by Charlie Huston, from his novel by the same name, and directed (in a pleasantly surprising departure from the usual) by Darren Aronofsky.
Caught Stealing brings high-octane action to a grand scale that vibrates for the big screen. Each character is a delightful balance of rough realism with a twinge of the absurd that makes even the baddest of the baddies incredibly fun to watch. The violence detonates like a pipe bomb, with absurd humor echoing in the aftermath. There’s a fun-loving quality that hits like any number of iconic 90s action films but, with Darren Aronofsky at the helm, Caught Stealing really shines under a slick, effortlessly cool lacquer.
It goes without saying that Caught Stealing is not Darren Aronofsky’s typical fare. The high-concept horror of mother! and the tormented spiral of unfulfilled ambition in Black Swan are far removed from this earnest, down-to-earth caper. And that’s okay. In fact, it’s refreshing. Caught Stealing benefits from Aronofsky’s sharp eye and particular brand of violent madness. This component alone brings Caught Stealing into the same category of film as Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. If I were the betting sort, I’d wager that Caught Stealing has good odds of rising to a similar cult status.
Much of that is to the credit of Austin Butler.
Butler’s portrayal of Hank is the center of gravity in Caught Stealing. He is the sincere amidst the extreme. The selfless among the grabbing. He does not portray perfection, or even nobility; just the simple hope of doing a little better. Austin Butler manages a gentleness without sacrificing opportunities to rise to the occasion of the film’s darker themes.
In fact, Austin Butler roots the film so well that I almost wish that the script and direction would have placed more faith in him to carry that weight. Caught Stealing moves fast and with intense purpose. It captures this seismic, life-altering event in one person’s life. That would be enough; instead, Caught Stealing expends a lot of energy looking over its shoulder and providing constant reminder’s of Hank’s “troubled past.” The overall result is dulling what would otherwise be a razor sharp script.
Caught Stealing is, quite simply, a film made for the theater going experience. Everything it does is big. Big action sequences. Big stars. Big humor. By no means does Caught Stealing break new ground or blaze to the upper echelons of its genre — but it’s a damn good time at the movies. Evocative of a very specific cinematic moment that feels far gone, but still familiar. Caught Stealing should be seen on the largest screen possible.
Rating: 7/10
Caught Stealing opens in theaters on Friday, August 29.
