Review: "Caught Stealing"

Darren Aronofsky has enjoyed a successful directing career.  His movies include: Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Wrestler (2008), and Black Swan (2010) which earned him an Oscar nomination.

His latest, Caught Stealing, may be his best film yet.  It might also be a career topping movie for its star Austin Butler.

It’s a Coen-esque, modern film noir tale involving a loser of a protagonist facing a ton of trouble in the form of Russian mobsters, corrupt cops and scary Orthodox Jewish hit men (yes, you heard it right), who are all out to get him.

A lot of contemporary movies are compared to the work of the Coen Brothers.  Their work has become its own genre—Coen Brothers movies.  Caught Stealing has a lot in common with some of the Coen Brothers best work, Fargo (1996) in particular.  The protagonist in both movies is a likeable f-up who takes a beating (actually, a series of bloody beatings) on his way to redemption.  It’s a mix of pain and comedy that became a Coen Brothers’ trademark.

Austin Butler’s character, Hank Thompson, is a talented guy who was once a hot, high school prospect for Big League Baseball, until his dreams were cut short as a result of drunk driving and a terrible accident that resulted in a debilitating knee injury and the loss of a friend.

Years later, he’s a washed-up, has-been, working as a bartender in New York City in the late 1990s, across the river from the twin towers of the World Trace Center.  He has a loving mom living in California and a supportive girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz) who works as a paramedic.

His uneventful life is shattered one day when his Mohawk-haired, Punk Rock reject of an apartment neighbor, Russ (Matt Smith) asks Hank to watch his cat, Bud, while he’s away visiting his ailing father in London. Russian thugs soon show up looking for Russ.  Their brutal interrogation in the hallway lands Hank in the hospital.  Their sadistic beating results in the loss of one of Hank’s kidneys.  They clearly mean business.

Without giving away too much, Hank finds himself in a dark world of crooked cops, vicious thugs and scary hit men, all in search of a lock key and the location where Russ has hidden several million dollars of stolen drug money.  Violence and murder ensue.  All of it points to Hank who, like one of Alfred Hitchcock’s wrongfully accused protagonists, finds himself on the run with Russ’s cat Buddy in tow.

Caught Stealing is brilliant on many levels, beginning with a first-rate, script oozing with delicious detail and complexity.  It delivers non-stop suspense.

It’s a finely crafted film that could earn Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Austin Butler), and Best Supporting Actress (Regina King).  Technically, it’s sure to gain attention for the cinematography, editing, art direction and music.  The camera work is particularly impressive.

Caught Stealing might become the sleeper hit of 2025, much like Anora did last year. It is remarkably good. The supporting cast includes: Griffin Dunne, Vincent D’Onofrio, Liev Schreiber, Carol Kane, and Bad Bunny, (and an uncredited appearance by Laura Dern). 

And let’s not forget Bud the Cat, played by Tonic.  If there was an Oscar category for Best Cat in a Motion Picture, Tonic would be taking home the trophy, paws down. His performance—a strong, emotional thread running through the entire film—is (forgive me) purr-fection.

Though there are months of movie releases ahead in the fall and winter, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Darren Aronofsky’s immensely entertaining crime thriller was caught stealing a list of Oscar nominations next year.  It’s a stand-out, feature film release for 2025.  One well worth seeing.

Caught Stealing is rated R.