THE STORY – Burned-out ex-baseball player Hank Thompson unexpectedly finds himself embroiled in a dangerous struggle for survival amidst the criminal underbelly of 1990s New York City, forced to navigate a treacherous underworld he never imagined.
THE CAST – Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Griffin Dunne, Benito A Martínez Ocasio, Action Bronson & Carol Kane
THE TEAM – Darren Aronofsky (Director) & Charlie Huston (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 107 Minutes
Darren Aronofsky’s films often prove elusive, his distinctly bleak sensibilities leaving little incentive for repeat viewings. “Requiem for a Dream” sits on the Mount Rushmore of unrelentingly bleak cinema, brilliant in execution but a punishing litmus test for who would willingly return to such despair. His last feature, “The Whale,” felt like a rare misstep, its manufactured hopefulness clashing with Aronofsky’s tonal instincts, even if it did rejuvenate Brendan Fraser’s career. So when news broke that Aronofsky was directing an action vehicle starring Academy Award nominee Austin Butler, still riding a hot streak, it was hard not to be curious. Thankfully, “Caught Stealing” delivers. A grungy crime thriller, it proves that even Aronofsky can channel his harsh showmanship into something riotously entertaining.
Adapting Charlie Huston’s novel, Aronofsky follows Hank Thompson (Butler), a California transplant bartending in Manhattan’s Lower East Side during the late 1990s. Hank is just another guy, save for the demons of a failed MLB career that continue to haunt him. He obsesses over the San Francisco Giants’ Wild Card chase, dutifully calls his mother each day, and entertains early-morning hookups with Zoë Kravitz’s Yvonne, a paramedic hoping to turn their fling into something more. Barely holding his life together, Hank’s world unravels after agreeing to watch the cat of his mohawked neighbor, Russ (Matt Smith), a favor that plunges him into New York’s criminal underworld. The premise may sound familiar, but Aronofsky and Huston’s recreation of late-’90s New York feels so gritty and lived-in that it remains constantly engaging. Credit goes to Matthew Libatique, Aronofsky’s frequent cinematographer, who captures both the griminess and vitality of the Lower East Side, Queens, and Brighton Beach.
What makes “Caught Stealing” fascinating is how Aronofsky infuses subtle touches from his earlier work into what is arguably his most “commercial” project in years. At times, it carries the pulse of a mid-2000s action movie, yet always through Aronofsky’s lens. Chase sequences, car crashes, and shootouts roar with intensity, elevated by immaculate production design and sound editing that make every blow felt. In one standout early scene, Hank is pummeled by two Russian goons, with each rib-crunching hit synced to the sound of a bat cracking a baseball. It’s a visceral, wince-inducing device that exemplifies the film’s inventive brutality. Huston’s screenplay is unexpectedly funny too, often mining humor from its violence, most memorably in a recurring gag where Smith’s Russ repeatedly suffers blows to the head, somehow staying funny until the very end.
Still, none of this would work without Butler, who once again knocks it out of the park. He transforms his natural charisma into a character defined by regret, Miller High Life, and arrested development, embodying a loser who still can’t shake his magnetism. In many ways, “Caught Stealing” plays like a blood-soaked coming-of-age story, charting one man’s belated attempt to move forward after years of self-neglect. Butler’s chemistry with Kravitz is another highlight; their connection is instantly electric, making one wish the film gave them even more screen time. Surrounding them is a colorful ensemble: Regina King as a hardened detective, Benito Martinez Ocasio as a menacing club owner, and Vincent D’Onofrio and Liev Schreiber as a pair of terrifyingly funny hitmen. Smith, meanwhile, gradually emerges as a standout, his odd-couple dynamic with Butler both grating and hilarious.
The screenplay occasionally stumbles under the weight of its many revelations, some of which feel more like narrative fuel than genuine surprises. The story strains to keep momentum as it juggles twists and character threads, and while Aronofsky ties things together in a satisfying way for some, others may find the ending underwhelming. Still, in a summer crowded with blockbusters that failed to meet expectations, “Caught Stealing” stands out as one of the few worth revisiting. Who would have guessed the most entertaining release of the season wouldn’t be about superheroes or dinosaurs, but a sexily scuzzy action thriller about a washed-up baseball player stumbling through New York’s underworld?
