Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Written by: Charlie Huston
Run Time: 1 hour 47 mins

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Darren Aronofsky is a director known for his audacious and unafraid storytelling. Many of his films such as Requiem for a Dream (2000) and mother! (2017) explore rather upsetting themes and feature some very graphic scenes, while others like Noah (2014) and The Whale (2022) have been met with significant controversy upon release. So by comparison, his latest film, crime thriller Caught Stealing, feels a little tame.

Based on Charlie Huston’s novel of the same name, Caught Stealing follows Hank (Austin Butler), an ex-baseball player turned bartender working and living in New York City. However, one night when a couple of thugs come looking for his absentee neighbour Russ (Matt Smith), Hank unwittingly takes his place as their new target. Finding himself mixed up in the city’s dangerous criminal underworld, Hank – with the help of Russ’ grumpy pet cat Bud – must go to extreme lengths to protect his loved ones and make it out alive.

While Austin Butler is still of course best known for his role as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic – and rightfully so, portraying the famous singer with such verve – he’s proving that he’s just as capable an actor in less flashy, more unassuming roles too. His performance in Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders (2023) is his most convincing example to date, and he only strengthens his portfolio with his work in Caught Stealing.

Plausibly taking on a more everyman kind of role, as Hank he’s got the look and feel of a guy unbothered by what’s happening around him. He’s cool without having to say anything, or at least he thinks so. Yet, when push comes to shove and he’s faced with a more challenging set of circumstances his nonchalance is nowhere to be seen. Butler’s got the ability to make both work for him, persuading audiences as the laidback jock type but also the clueless guy completely out of his depth. It’s an interesting look at how quickly a character’s demeanour can change, but one that also reveals something deeper that Hank’s already running from.

Butler confidently holds together much of the film’s first two acts, which unfold at a steady pace and in quite a robust, self-contained manner. While the shift in his character arrives with a violent development in the narrative, as before this it’s his notable chemistry with co-star Zoë Kravitz, Hank’s girlfriend Yvonne, that dominates the screen. Later making way for the more elaborate crime thriller that completes the runtime.

Although, despite its intricacies, Huston’s screenplay ultimately offers a fairly generic crime plot; there’s some missing money, a few rival gangsters and a no-nonsense detective trying to clean it all up. Nonetheless, it methodically establishes the important players and necessary context for the inevitable culmination of these individual elements. However, it’s at this exact, crucial moment where its plots collide that Caught Stealing first looks like it might not get away with it.

As after its initially careful construction it begins to fall apart under the weight of its own convolution, spiralling into a pattern of repetitive set pieces and needlessly complicated exposition. Aronofsky at least shoots the accompanying increase in action with a noticeable directorial flair, but one that feels grander than the script serving the story. As its contrived attempts to inject more comedy into the proceedings further disrupts the more controlled tone previously established.

The supporting characters at least make for a more boisterous back end to the onscreen antics; Matt Smith’s Brit-punk Russ most prominently so. His loud, obnoxious, potty-mouth dialogue is almost as harsh as his mohawk hairstyle, either way you can’t miss him. Elsewhere, Vincent D’Onofrio and Liev Schreiber play a pair of Jewish gangsters whose main involvement arrives a little late, but they manage to work with the awkward timing of their addition well enough to add adequate entertainment. It’s Regina King’s aforementioned detective who feels the most grounded in this world though, complementing Butler as the other constant in this admittedly inconsistent crime caper.

Yet it’s the fate of Hank, which hangs so delicately in the balance, that will keep viewers invested. As regardless of the final act’s shortcomings, and even Hank’s own sordid past, Butler gives him an endearing, underdog quality that keeps Caught Stealing compelling. There’s some baseball metaphor about a home run to be made, but considering all Hank wants to do is run home, it doesn’t feel so fitting. It’s certainly not the usual big swing from Aronofsky, but still, a modest hit is better than a big miss.

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Star Rating: ★ ★ ★

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