By Mahnoosh Arsalan
Correspondent
After a three-year break from directing, Darren Aronofsky has returned to the silver screen with his new feature crime thriller “Caught Stealing” starring Austin Butler, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Vincent D’Onofrio and Liev Schreiber. “Caught Stealing” details the odyssey of a young bartender and former baseball player, Hank Thompson, who’s down on his luck and gets drawn into a conspiracy way bigger than him.
Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” introduced me to the world of film at a very young age and holds a very special place in my heart. Luckily, “Caught Stealing,” though vastly different from anything Aronofsky has done before, was a wild ride and overall a fun time.
Surprisingly, “Caught Stealing” had me belly-laughing in the theater. Aronofsky is notorious for gut-wrenching, perturbing movies, so contrasting that with a violence-filled comedy was riveting. Aronofsky was emulating the styles of the Safdie Brothers, Guy Ritchie and the Coen Brothers, stacking the movie with a breakneck pace and explosive action.
The movie was also chock-full of twists and jaw-dropping moments, which culminated in a very fun viewing experience.
With that said, there was something I felt missing from the movie, and that was depth. While Aronofsky was portraying wild moments like you’d see in a movie like the Safdie Brothers’ “Good Time,” it didn’t feel like an Aronofsky movie.
Typically, in his films, each character feels real. The characters are given enough time to grow and develop; unfortunately, this is absent from “Caught Stealing,” in which Butler’s character is the only one with a proper character arc.
Austin Butler’s portrayal of Thompson brought the character to life, allowing the audience to connect with him. We see this through Thompson’s little quirks like his disdain towards cats, his daily calls with his mom and his love for baseball. These small things allowed the viewers to get a peek into Thompson’s life and connect with him on a deeper level. We even see him grow as a person and transform with each new thing he experiences.
As for the other characters in the movie, I personally didn’t feel connected to them. Yes, they were comical and brought chaos to the movie, but Thompson went on a transformative ride, which allowed me to understand him and feel for him. Additionally, since the release of the movie, I haven’t seen enough praise for Matt Smith, who played Russ, Thompson’s British next-door neighbor.
Smith is an incredible actor with insane versatility. He’s taken on roles that are vastly different, yet he blends into the world of every movie or show he’s been in. He played the detestable Russ perfectly, and I hope to see him in more critically acclaimed roles.
Ultimately, though I had some minor issues with the movie, I still give it four stars. I hope Aronofsky explores this genre more, just with more care for each character. “Caught Stealing” was a thrilling time, and was a reminder that a well-made action movie can be a very fun experience!
