Is it Worth Doing the Time for “Caught Stealing?”

“Caught Stealing” is Darren Aronofsky‘s first feature film since 2022’s Oscar-winning “The Whale.”  The trailer makes it seem like “Caught Stealing” is a quirky, dark, comedy, but it has more in common with his previous film than one might expect.  “The Whale” explored addiction to food as a way of dealing with past trauma that led to further pain.  Similarly, “Caught Stealing” is a parable about alcoholism and the impact it has on the lives of just not the addict, but those he cares about.

The movie takes place over a few days in 1998 and follows Hank (Austin Butler), a young bartender who moved to NYC after an accident ruined his pro-baseball opportunities.  Hank lives alone, and self-medicates his trauma with a near constant supply of alcohol.  He is occasionally visited by Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz), a local nurse.  She’s seen Hank at his worst, but sees the good and potential inside of him.  One evening while Yvonne is visiting, Hank’s punk rocker neighbor Russ (Matt Smith), frantically asks for them to watch his cat for a few days while he visits his dying father in the UK.  This simple tasks soon leads the pair down a dark path into NYC’s criminal underground.

Hank quickly finds himself flung within a menagerie of intimidating characters.  There are Russian Mob Enforcers, a Puerto Rican Drug Dealer (Bad Bunny), a narcotics detective (Regina King), and two Hasidic hitmen, Lipa (Liev Schreiber) and Shmully (Vincent D’Onofrio).   A collection of characters like this leans towards the farcical, but Aronofsky isn’t pulling any punches.  For every humorous note in the movie, we’re clubbed over the head with darkness.  The movie feels like an extra-dark Guy Ritchie flick.  Terrible things happen to good people, often as a result of Hank’s poor choices.

The movie sports an incredible cast, but for such a talented ensemble the only performance that actually stands out is Matt Smith.  His retro-punk-rock Russ is so neurotic and over-the-top he sucks the oxygen out of every scene he’s in.  Russ is one of those characters that are exciting to watch but exhausting at the same time.

As a cinematic experience, “Caught Stealing” is a mixed bag.  It’s entertaining, well-paced, occasionally humorous, and at times unpredictable.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t carry the mental or emotional weight of any of Aronofsky‘s previous features.  The biggest issue is the message this parable tells seems a bit muddied.  “Sober up, be kind to yourself, and don’t blame yourself for the terrible things that happened in your life (even if they were 100% your fault.)”