'Caught Stealing' review: Austin Butler takes a beating in Aronofsky's scrappy crime caper

Courtesy of Sony

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In Darren Aronofsky’s "Caught Stealing”, perhaps the “Black Swan” and “mother!” filmmaker’s most commercial outing, Austin Butler spends nearly two hours getting the absolute hell beaten out of him. Watching the “Dune: Part Two” and “Elvis” star ditch the raspy voice, and oversized swagger is a refreshing change of pace, both for the actor and for Aronofsky, whose last film, “The Whale”, didn’t exactly bring audiences together.

“Caught Stealing” is a scrappy, late-’90s-style caper in which Butler plays Hank Thompson, a washed-up former baseball phenom turned bartender who finds himself stuck in the middle of a turf war between Russian mobsters and Orthodox Jewish gangsters. Set in 1998, with Aronofsky working from Charlie Huston’s adaptation of his own novel, the film taps into the director’s New York roots, evoking a gritty, lived-in energy full of borough affection. The movie is messy at times, veering between shocking violence and overly tidy resolutions, but it comes alive through its eclectic cast and the sheer punishment inflicted on Butler’s battered, bruised lead.

Hank is introduced as a San Francisco Giants diehard who calls his mom to talk through the season and bartends on the side. His troubles begin when his neighbor Russ (a punk rocker Matt Smith having a blast) heads to London for a family emergency, leaving Hank to cat-sit. Not long after, a pair of Russian goons (Yuri Kolokolnikov and Nikita Kukushkin) show up, mistaking Hank for someone else and leaving him with a ruptured kidney. It’s a brutal beatdown that sets the tone for a story that tries to balance pulpy crime grit with flashes of Aronofsky’s more introspective tendencies. Flashbacks reveal Hank’s tragic backstory: a drunk-driving accident that wrecked his knee, killed his best friend, and ended his shot at the majors.

As the plot thickens, Hank gets caught between more dangerous players: a dogged police detective (Regina King), the Russians’ flamboyant boss (a game Bad Bunny), and a pair of relentless Orthodox brothers (Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio, both menacing to the bone). Everyone wants something from Hank, and every encounter leaves him more battered, raising the question of whether he can actually survive this meat grinder of a world.

It’s frankly surprising to see Aronofsky’s name on something this outwardly straightforward. The provocateur of “Requiem for a Dream” opts here for a more accessible genre exercise. Unlike Ron Howard’s recent island misfire “Eden,” which felt utterly detached from its characters, “Caught Stealing” has a genuine affection for the crime thrillers of the ’90s. Aronofsky peppers the film with period detail: Twin Towers skyline shots, Shea Stadium glimpses, Kim’s Video storefronts, even throwaway jokes about burning through cell phone minutes. The humor is sporadic, and the film could’ve used more of it to balance the carnage, but the world-building adds texture.

What makes “Caught Stealing” notable is that it isn’t angling for awards-season glory. It’s Aronofsky trying his hand at a straight-ahead genre programmer, the kind of mid-budget, studio-backed crime drama that used to be common but now feels nearly extinct. It doesn’t quite knock it out of the park, but its bruised sincerity, sense of place, and yes, affection for cats, give it a scruffy charm. This is a solid three-star effort, the kind of movie studios used to crank out just for fun. These days, they’re an endangered species. 

Grade: B- 

CAUGHT STEALING is now playing in theaters.