REVIEW: ‘Caught Stealing’ Is A Deftly Brutal Belter Of A Thriller

With Caught Stealing, Darren Aronofsky grapples with undoubtedly one of the knottiest dilemmas of his directorial career: How far will you go for a cat that is not even yours?  Add in a grimy presentation tempered by flecks of bathos and a colourful cast of characters, and you have yourself a gripping ride. We are presented with something ostensibly conventional and potentially throwaway, but find it elevated in a way that once again demonstrates why Aronofsky is a cut above as an auteur. This film is quintessentially unflinching in both its depiction of violence and its examination of human vulnerability. 

Based off Charlie Huston’s 2004 novel of the same name, Caught Stealing tells the story of Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), a burned-out former baseball player who schleps each day to work behind a bar in late-90s New York City.  Hank, along with his paramedic girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz), find themselves landed with cat-sitting duties when his Mohawk-laden neighbour Russ (Matt Smith) asks them to keep an eye on ‘Bud’ whilst he apparently has to return to London to care for his sick dad.  Hank and Yvonne are on the cusp of deciding whether to truly commit to a relationship as a couple. Whilst the pair are onto a good thing, Yvonne needs Hank to deal with his drinking habits so he can truly be a dependable guy.  Yet, in a flash, Hank finds himself confronted in his hallway by a group of Russian thugs who assail him with kicks until his kidney ruptures and he is forced into hospital.  These Russians, under the command of a Puerto Rican gangster played by Benito Martinex Ocasio (aka Bad Bunny, delivering delicious menace), are owed a substantial amount of money from Russ and want it back.  This kicks off a chain of events which spiral increasingly out of control, with Hank forced to enlist help from Yvonne, his bar’s curmudgeony manager Hank (Griffin Dunne) and Regina King’s probing cop Roman.

Some have categorised this as a ‘dark comedy drama’.  However, it should not be said that this is a comedy first - the archetypical character types are there, make no mistake, but they are not callously flattened in service of laughs. One of the most welcome decisions taken by Aronofsky is his refusal to depend upon the tactics of many contemporary crime capers over at least the past decade from filmmakers such as Ritchie or Matthew Vaughn.  Comedy in this film is situational rather than rhetorical.  This dereliction of quotable quips means that humorous moments feel more organic rather than manufactured; the kind of things which may provide a wry chuckle from time to time without detracting from the ever-ratcheting tension.  With that being said, the aforementioned archetypes on display may fundamentally be too broad for some, with some aspects coming on a bit too strong (though the lamp-shading at moments does leaven it slightly, and it does not come at the sacrifice of believability). This is a world away from Black Swan, mother! or The Whale - and considerably more likely to please the average punter in search of a rip-roaring time at the movies rather than a major Aronofsky fan (Aronofskyite? Aronofan?) wanting the auteur to break boundaries of form once again. This is the man operating on easy mode, but in a way that has produced his most accessible film to date.

Zoë Kravitz and Austin Butler in Caught Stealing. © Sony

Another key factor that prevents this film from falling into the dustbin of obscurity in such a crowded field is in how the violence feels purposeful, rather than a spectacle solely for the audience’s gratification.  Hank goes through the wringer, but the camera does not linger so long that it feels exploitative.  Comparisons may be drawn to Tarantino in some aspects of this film, particularly its twistiness - however, the same gleeful revelry in humanity’s capacity to inflict pain is not on display here.  That said, the sound design is top-notch here and a few moments were particularly winsome through that alone - one scene has Russian thugs unpick Hank’s sutures using pliers and the clipping sounds alone paint a picture. This is a picture that truly benefits from being experienced through a top-notch cinema sound system.  Aronofsky knows how to build tension, reel the audience in and keep them wanting more, aided by the deft editing of Andrew Weisblum (the pacing it this film allows moments to breathe but refuses to sag) and the lens of Matthew Libatique.  Special mention to Libatique’s work here - he and Aronofksy have proven an effective team ever since the director’s 1998 debut Pi, but he manages to imbue even the most mundane moments with a kind of elegiac beauty without being overwrought.  The grime and glitter co-exist as we, like Hank, are dragged through it by the scruff our neck - it does not get in the way of showcasing the many beauties to be found in New York. 

Those also come in the form of touching asides from time to time, most notably the short but relevant inclusion of Bubbe (Carol Kane), matriarch of two Hasidic brothers Lipa and Shmully (Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio).  The pair also end up on Hank’s tail, leaving chaos in their wake - until circumstances start to shift and Hank fights himself dining with the family, in one of the few moments he gets to catch his breath.  In Kane’s inimitably raspy tones, Bubbe tells Hank to hide his teeth if he is not going to bite, sensing that he is a gentle soul not accustomed to fighting in the gutter.  Butler aptly embodies such a tortured but fundamentally good-natured fella fighting against not just his inner demons, but the hard cards which life has unexpectedly dealt him in this moment.  He finds himself understandably hardened by his experiences, but Butler never lets that block us from seeing what is going on behind his eyes.

Regina King and Austin Butler in Caught Stealing. © Sony

Intriguingly - and rather anachronistically - the soundtrack is provided by the contemporary British post-punk band IDLES, with scoring duties supported by.  It would have been all too easy for Sony to make Aronofsky pack the film full of 90s rock classics. However, it is the distinctively British flavouring in this cinematic hotpot which gives the whole thing even more bite - reminiscent of how Danny Boyle only recently worked with Young Fathers on 28 Years Later. Here, however, it feels somewhat eyebrow raising but ultimately natural. It is something of a musical manifestation of Russ’ impact on Hank’s life - crashing in unexpectedly into a space to which it does not traditionally belong and shaking everything up. Aronofsky also does the same himself with this film - playing in a genre and world he has less experience of and creating (at least by his own standards) a remarkable conventional film.  Whether that is a slight or not will ultimately depend upon what you are looking for from this film - but for this critic, Aronofsky has hit a home run. 

Rating: ★★★★☆

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Caught Stealing. © Sony

About Caught Stealing

Premiere Date: August 29, 2025

Producers: Jeremy Dawson, Dylan Goldeno, Ari Handel, Darren Aronofsky

Writer: Charlie Huston

Production: Columbia Pictures, Protozoa Pictures

Distribution: Sony Pictures

Cast: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D'Onofrio, Bad Bunny, Griffin Dunne, Carol Kane

Synopsis: Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) was a high-school baseball phenom who can’t play anymore, but everything else is going okay. He’s got a great girl (Zoë Kravitz), tends bar at a New York dive, and his favorite team is making an underdog run at the pennant. When his punk-rock neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) asks him to take care of his cat for a few days, Hank suddenly finds himself caught in the middle of a motley crew of threatening gangsters. They all want a piece of him; the problem is he has no idea why. As Hank attempts to evade their ever-tightening grip, he’s got to use all his hustle to stay alive long enough to find out…