By: Sam Hepburn

Caught Stealing is the newest film by critically acclaimed director Daren Aronofsky, starring Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz, and based on the novel of the same name by Charlie Hudston. 

We follow Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), a burnt-out ex-baseball player, now working as a bartender in the Lower East Side of New York. After being asked for a favor from his Punk rock neighbor, to watch his cat while he’s out of town. He soon finds himself dragged into a fight for survival, while dealing with the Russian mobsters, Puerto Rican gangsters, and Hasidic gang brothers all coming after him. 

The performances in this film are great. Austin Butler is really the heart of this movie. As he plays a sort of everyman character, with flaws and filled with so much humanity that people can find him very relatable. As we watch him deal with scenarios he wants nothing to do with and deal with forces greater than him.

 Zoë Kravitz also has a great performance as she plays Yvonne, the girlfriend of Hank. She brings a calm to the chaos that Hank finds himself dealing with. As she has flaws of her own like Hank, her will to do the right thing and her genuine care she has for people make her a character you love to root for. Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio also bring their best for the film. They bring life to these characters and are great to see on the screen interacting with Austin Butler’s character.

Daren Aronofsky has also done a great job of bringing this criminal underworld of late 1990s New York City alive. The film feels grimy and dirty, and really feels like it was filmed in that time period. This film is also one of his more straightforward movies. Showing the range of filmmaking Aronofsky can have. The film was also shot well. I think this is one of the better-looking movies of the year. This is also complemented by the quick editing and vivid action scenes, both of which are done amazingly. 

To get another perspective on this film I’ve asked fellow Wesleyan student and movie lover Owen Cutright about his thoughts on this film ““I really enjoyed Austin Butler’s performance in this movie. I also really liked the setting of this movie. Some of the action is very dramatized but I did enjoy the game of cat and mouse that the movie had. The movie also had a very diverse set of characters in the pursuit of catching him, which I really enjoyed.If you want a fun movie this is pretty good for that.”

The soundtrack is also something to note. The soundtrack is loaded with hits from the 90s and also has a great original soundtrack from the IDLES. That really fits in with the vibe of the movie. 

Some drawbacks I had with the film were few, but there were some. As in the third act there were some unclear motives by the characters. Also having some emotional moments sometimes being overshowed by the high energy and action of the movie. 

It was a fun, exciting and action-packed ride. As we watch this character try to survive and go against all sorts of strange individuals. While it’s not as deep or makes you think like other Daren Aronofsky films. It’s still a great time. And doesn’t try to be deep like those other films. The film also is loaded with great performances by the cast and really amazing visuals. For a fun action crime movie, this one is pretty good.

Photo Credit: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1493274/