Year of Release: 2025
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoe Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D'Onofrio, Carol Kane, Griffin Dunne, Laura Dern, Action Bronson, Nikita Kukushkin, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Bad Bunny, Janelle McDermoth, Tenoch Huerta
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon Prime
Synopsis and Review
Following the well received "The Whale", director Darren Aronofsky is back with an adaptation of the book "Caught Stealing" by the author of the novel itself, Charlie Huston. The narrative follows the story of Hank Thompson, a twenty-something bartender in New York in the late 1990s, who is charismatic and friendly, but who also carries with him the burden of an unfulfilled dream of being a big baseball player. His dream was shattered as a result of a brutal car accident which also resulted in the death of one of his high school friends. Hank gets along with his boss Paul, and has a solid relationship with Yvonne, who is hoping he finds a way to overcome his trauma and make something out of his life (or at least embrace something that will make him have more ownership of his destiny). Hank's friend Russ shows up at his place, asking him to take care of his cat while he goes to London to check on his dad who is not doing so well. Shortly after Hank receives the visit of two Russian mobsters who are looking for Russ. They beat him up pretty severely and Hank ends up in the hospital, minus one kidney as a result of the beating. Yvonne tends to him. He is also visited by narcotics detective Elise Roman who reveals that Russ is a drug dealer who is connected with various criminal gangs, including the brutal Hasidic Drucker brothers. Hank uncovers a hidden key Russ left behind, which he realizes is tied with what all the gangsters are looking for. While being interrogated by the returning Russians and their Puerto Rican associate, he admits to it, though after a night of drinking he doesn't know what happened to the key. Hank is eventually also pursued by the Druckers, and fearing for what might happen to Yvonne he goes back to her apartment to let her know. However he's too late, as she's been brutally murdered, which sends him down a spiral of grief and retribution.
"Caught Stealing" is possibly one of the most straightforward features Darren Aronofsky has created thus far in his career. It perfectly captures the energy of New York of the late 1990s, and does so with the right amount of grit, humor, and energy. Of all of his features thus far it is also quite possibly his most lighthearted and funny, bringing to mind the ironic noir/thrillers of the early 2000s such as Paul McGuigan's "Lucky Number Slevin" or Jonathan Lynn's "The Whole Nine Yards". Most of these characters are very slight in their characterization and description, existing mostly on the courtesy of the charisma of the performers, but they all feel quite colorful and always engaging. Where Darren Aronofsky's gifted hand comes across is particularly on the pained existence of Hank, his everlasting bruise of missing his big opportunity, of the disappointment for himself and his mother, and the cross he bears on the death of his high school friend. There's something hinting at a different vibe and direction there, but that doesn't really crystalize, with the narrative instead being mostly focused on this fish out of water type of scenario, where Hank just wants to get out of all the trouble his friend brought up. The film has some tonal issues that could have been handled a bit better (the dark comedy could have been emphasized a bit more), but overall it ends up being a quite entertaining feature. The cast is solid and quite talented, particularly Matt Smith who creates a great punk has-been, while Austin Butler manages to make Hank a sweet and lovable self-saboteur type of hero. The production team is top notch, particularly the impeccable cinematography from Matthew Libatique, score from Rob Simonsen, and production design from Mark Friedberg. Worth watching.
0 comments:
Post a Comment