Ticketworthy! - Caught Stealing

Caught Stealing, the newest film from director Darren Aronofsky, is a tale of two movies. It comes off as a little aimless early on, like it’s searching for an identity and can’t seem to settle on anything. I’m sure that’s probably intentional, the pacing mirrors the struggles of its lead character and that’s the kind of clever filmmaking Aronofsky is known for, but it’s not that interesting to watch. Then things open up, the action gets going, and the plot finally reveals itself. I must say, what a plot it is. It would have been great if the whole movie could have been as excellent as the last 45 minutes.

The story is about Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), a former top baseball prospect who ruined his chances at a major league career following a drunk driving accident. He’s living in New York, drinking heavily and doing nothing of note with his life, when he is thrust into a dangerous criminal conspiracy by his neighbor Russ’s (Matt Smith) leaving town.

When the movie leans into the violence and the absurd villains it’s created, it really is entertaining. Yes, the gangsters Hank deals with are all essentially cartoon characters and the violence is over-the-top, but ridiculousness is what this movie thrives on. It helps that Butler is truly great in his role and manages to bring balance to the craziness.

By the end of the movie, Hank feels like a character that has grown in a way that we don’t see often in movies like this. Butler plays him as a man coming to terms with his demons and we get to experience the whole journey with him. It’s a nice addition to the character and gives the movie some narrative weight.

Given Aronofsky’s reputation, it’s not shocking that he managed to slip in some depth and growth in between the shootouts. It is just a shame that he takes so long to get to the shootouts. The slower character beats early on do a fine enough job setting up the plot, but it’s a risk to ask your audience to sit through all of it to get to the good parts. Even with Hank being more nuanced than the average hero in these kinds of movies, this still isn’t a slow character piece. It’s a gangster thriller. Every moment it isn’t being a gangster thriller really drags it down.

Still, if you can get through the weaker parts in the beginning, there is a total blast of a movie waiting for you as a reward. If it could have been that throughout, I have no doubt that it would be an instant cult classic. Instead, it’ll probably be remembered as simply a fun movie with a surprisingly interesting main character. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but to use a metaphor from Caught Stealing’s favorite sport, it’s a base hit. It just could have been a home run.