“Caught Stealing” is a wild ride. It’s not for the faint of heart. When you get off, you feel a little disoriented, a bit unsteady and kinda beat up. But are you glad you went?
I’m going with…I think so. Although I can’t say I really enjoyed this movie (too dark, too gritty, and darn it…the cat gets hurt!), it had enough good things going on that I came out on the other side. When I walked out of the theater, I felt begrudgingly hopeful, and relished the glory of a second chance gone right.
One thing I liked about this film is the setting: Director Darren Aronofsky (“Requiem for a Dream,” “Black Swan”) plops us down in 1998 New York City. That means in addition to a dirtier and more authentic East Village, everyone is rocking out to Smash Mouth, Spin Doctors and Meredith Brooks. (Hi, Jerry Springer!)
The story unfolds as Hank (Austin Butler), a handsome, dopey bartender with a drinking problem, gets tasked with an unexpected responsibility: taking care of his punk rock, mohawk-sporting Brit neighbor’s cat when the neighbor (Matt Smith) has to leave town. (Spoiler: Bud, the cat, is a biter.)
But something is amiss. Too hyper-violent Russians roll up on his neighbor’s apartment and beat the daylights out of Hank when he comes to intervene. They’re looking for something important, and it’s up to Hank — who seems like kind of a dimwit — to figure it out. At this point, we’re not feeling hopeful.
Zoe Kravitz plays opposite Butler as the smart and snarky paramedic, Yvonne. She’s so grounded and cool, you can’t help but wonder why on earth she’s with him. Regina King stars as the cut-throat detective who is intent on solving the case and retiring on the beaches of Tulum, while the cat (Tonic) steals every scene he’s in with his glorious coat and intense “I see dead people” eyes.
The film gets funny when Hank briefly joins forces with Lipa and Shmully, two murderous Orthodox Jews (Liev Schrieber and Vincent D’Onofrio) who take him on a detour to their mom’s house for baseball-sized matzo balls. (Carol Kane makes a most excellent cameo here.) I also loved the antics of Paul, the coke-snorting, lizard-loving bar owner who refuses to stand down when the bad guys shoot up his bar.
As the film progresses, I started to get less annoyed with Hank, and see him as the earnest, good-natured fella he is. I like how he ultimately embraces his scary new circumstances as a chance to redeem himself and heal from past mistakes. I mean, even the homeless guy who lives at the bottom of his stairs likes him.
Overall, this adventure takes some fun and surprising twists and turns, and the end does not fail to satisfy. But would I go on this ride again? Nope. Once was enough!
Movie Times: Click here
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Actors: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoe Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber
Running Time: 1h 47m
Rating: R for strong violent content, pervasive language, some sexuality/nudity and brief drug use
