I’m generally a big fan of director Darren Aronofsky, who’s had far more hits (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream, The Whale) than misses (*cough*), and I’ve been wanting to see Caught Stealing since it’s first high-speed trailer dropped. It stars Austin Butler and takes place in the late 90s (as if this Gen-X’er needed another excuse to see it!), about a man caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Hank was once a promising baseball player with a bright future, but he was drinking one day when he wrecked his car and tore up his knee, on the eve of the baseball draft where he would have stamped his ticket to stardom. Now he’s a late night bartender and alcoholic in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, with the two bright spots in his life being his love of the San Francisco Giants and his girlfriend Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz), maybe in that order. One day his apartment neighbor, brit punk rocker Russ (Matt Smith) asks him to watch his cat as he has to fly to London on a dime’s notice to see after his ailing father. Russ isn’t gone a day before Russians are banging on the door looking for him, and Hank gets caught in the middle. The Russians think Russ handed something of importance off to Hank, and despite Hank’s protestations, they beat him badly enough that he ruptures a kidney and ends up in the hospital for days after emergency surgery. It only gets worse from there. In addition to the Russians, before long Hank has a gang of Hasidic Jews (Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio), a Puerto Rican night club owner (Bad Bunny), and a police detective (Regina King) all on his tail as well. Whatever everyone thinks he has is important enough that many people are willing to torture and kill to get it. When Russ shows back up, he’s got some ‘splaining to do.
This is a fast-paced film with a lot of action and a raw, authentic feel, and I loved it all. The action is intense and I caught myself gasping aloud several times. I also appreciated that it takes place in 1998, and as I was near the age of the “hero” at that time, there were tons of throwbacks to that little sliver of time. Great film that I can’t wait to watch again. ★★★★½
Jons Movie Takes 