Caught Stealing

By Joanna Langfield

There’s fun to be had in Darren Aronofsky’s caper-esque newest, but the real kick is watching Austin Butler, who proves in each and every scene, he is, indeed a star.

We’re back in the 1990’s. Hank Thompson, a washed up baseball phenom, is tending bar in a Lower East Side dive. Characters abound. But this still somewhat innocent babe in the woods hasn’t seen anything until his punk rock neighbor drops his cat at Hank’s door.

Colorful is not the word. And, in many respects, it shouldn’t be. Aronofsky nails the dank and dark look of the time and neighborhood, with keen nods to local traditions as essential New York as tuning into 1010 WINS radio and devouring black and white cookies. Bad guys can be anywhere, be they Russian, Orthodox Jews or cops. But, as always, all of this world revolves around money. In this case, a lot of it.

Adapted from Charlie Huston’s novel, the plot twists and turns as the body count increases. And sure, there’s a perverse reward in watching some people get theirs. But, and no spoilers, there is one killing that killed a lot of the glee for me. Maybe this serves as a moment for Hank to start taking action, but I, at least, had a hard time shaking off its impact.

A game, mostly unrecognizable supporting cast helps Aronofsky have some laughs along the way, including Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Bad Bunny and Griffin Dunne. The always terrific Regina King and Zoe Kravitz get to play it more straight. But it’s the magnetic Butler who not just carries us along, but also adds just enough heart to make us care, at least a little bit, about this messed up guy who may or may not deserve it.