Caught Stealing

The best way to enjoy the new Darren Aronofsky movie is to ignore that it's a Darren Aronofsky movie.

The man is best known for directing psychological character pieces, stories that get deep into their subject's psyche and explore their desperate hold on to the promise of success. They're ambitious, they take risks, and they stubbornly refuse to accept reality as their dream falls apart, leading to the unraveling of their lives. The worse things get, the more resolute they become, their drive ensuring their ruin.

Hank (Austin Butler) is the exact opposite. He has no drive, no ambition. He was once a top baseball prospect out of high school, before he was behind the wheel in a car crash that resulted in the death of his close friend and wrecked his knee. Now living in late 90s NYC, he slings drinks at Paul's (Griffin Dunne) bar, talks to his mother every day on the phone ("Go Giants!"), and enjoys a passionate romance with Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz). The only disruption is when his neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) skips town to see to his father's health back home in London, leaving Hank to care for his adorable and chill cat Bud (Tonic). But oh boy, what a disruption it is!

Instead of obsessed with a specific goal, screenwriter Charlie Huston (who also wrote the eponymous novel in 2004) simply tasks Hank with staying alive. That's easier said than done when a few interested parties are convinced he knows something about Russ' whereabouts, and are eager to use violence to extract any and all information from him. Their very first confrontation lands Hank in the hospital and forces the removal of his kidney. After the first few scenes established Hank's comfortable if uneventful life, it has already been irrevocably altered by no fault of his own. Whether that continues apace or is altered in some way is up to him, especially after their continued brutality threatens to take away everything (and everyone) he loves.

Accompanied by a propulsive, crunchy, bass heavy score from Idles, once the action starts, the only chances you have to breathe are imbued with an inescapable weight. Whether from a shocking death that lets you know these gangsters are serious and no one is safe, or the tension of watching Hank frantically search for a mystery key, the pace prevents you from sitting back and taking stock of the insane whirlwind in which he finds himself, less you miss some detail. As such, Aronofsky manages to keep spectating a ton of fun, even as his protagonist has a worse and worse go of it.

The question was always whether he'd be able to keep this up the whole time, or alternatively shift gears into something more substantial. Instead, he splits the difference, a choice cemented early on given the central place Hank's dreams/memories of that horrific and life-altering car wreck takes in the film's visuals. His obsession with with Giants and insistence that they'd have already clinched the Wild Card if he was on the team belies someone who's been unable to move past what could have been, and manifests in his struggle to settle down and take his relationship with Yvonne seriously. Why bother aiming higher when you can just relive your version of your event on end exactly as you think they should have gone?

Frustrating this focus is the frequent introduction of new elements into the stew. You've got the Russians (Nikita Kukushkin and Yuri Kolokolnikov), Colorado (Bad Bunny), Detective Roman (Regina King), the Hebrews (Liev Schreiber and Vincent D'Onofrio), and more. Each complexifies the plot a little more, necessitating Russ' return in order to explain it to us. But by then, it's too late. As wonderful as each performance is, as amusing as it is to see Butler's charisma work on an acting level while having no effect on these single-minded brutes, managing an intricate plot has never been Aronofsky's strong suit.

In the the only past efforts that have seen Aronofsky's characters employ even somewhat complicated schemes, it precipitates their downfall. As such, the specifics melt into the background, and we're discouraging from thinking too hard about them. But given the minimal emotional depth here and the need to regain our balance amongst the onslaught, the plot is a core concern. It's coherent, but the variety of players and the incompetence of some and the focus on the action makes it hard to sink your teeth into. There are details telegraphed ahead of time, allowing you to gain a slight foothold, before the energy throws you for another loop. The only point where you can gather your thoughts is an amusing Shabbos interlude featuring a warm Carol Kane, although by then you've been trained to wonder how Hank will manage to get into even further trouble while there.

While not much more than meets the eye, the film's style will keep you engaged. Idles' score is not only apt, it's easily one of the best of the year so far. It (along with the impeccable sound design) perfectly accents some of the more visceral action beats, the original compositions keep your heart rate up, and they unleash some wonderful and varied needle drops from the 90s (and earlier). Matty Liabatique once again returns as Aronofsky's director of photography, so there's nary a boring frame in the whole movie. The colors are muted, but the context makes clear that's an impressionistic projection of the on-the-rise but still dirty NYC of the late 90s, as does just how easily the criminal elements move through their world. And you're never lost in the action, a tribute to the skill of another regular Aronofsky collaborator, editor Andrew Weisblum.

After a trilogy of films that concern religion in one way or another (although no way that Angel Studios would appreciate), it's fascinating to see Aronofsky make such a stark pivot. Away from faith, away from prior obsessions, away from the niche type of stories he'd been telling. Being so plot-heavy and action-centric rather than a slow, internal, challenging character study makes it far more of a crowd-pleaser than anything he's made before. The results are predictably uneven, but the talent that he's displayed since his debut feature nearly thirty years ago provides solid ground and earned goodwill, aided by Butler's star power and the wonderfully cast supporting ensemble. So although there's not a whole ton of substance, Caught Stealing succeeds at providing a hell of a good time.