This post contains minor spoilers for “Caught Stealing.”
Darren Aronofsky is many things. He’s been working as a director in Hollywood for nearly 30 years now, dating back to his low-budget breakthrough 1998 debut feature “Pi.” He’s directed the likes of Natalie Portman (“Black Swan”) and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) to Oscars. Aronofsky has made some of the most acclaimed and most divisive films of the last 25 years, including the legendarily divisive “Mother!” which earned an extremely rare F CinemaScore. But there’s one thing that Aronofsky has pretty much never been as a filmmaker: fun.
That is, until now.
After directing an adaptation of Samuel Hunter’s play “The Whale” for A24 in 2022, Aronofsky decided to seriously change gears for his follow-up, which is now in theaters in the form of “Caught Stealing.” It’s a breezy, tense, at times sexy crime caper led by Austin Butler (“Elvis”) with an excellent surrounding ensemble including the likes of Zoe Kravitz (“The Batman”), Matt Smith (“Doctor Who”), and even music superstar Bad Bunny. More importantly than any of that though, Aronofsky, arguably for the first time ever, has made a fun movie.
It centers on a burned-out ex-baseball player Hank Thompson (Butler) who is working as a bartender in New York City in the ’90s. His life is simple, and he’s attempting to navigate his budding relationship with his girlfriend Yvonne (Kravitz). When Hank’s punker neighbor asks him to watch his cat, he unwittingly winds up tangled in the web of the city’s criminal underbelly. Chaos ensues.
I previously touched on the funness of “Caught Stealing” in my review of the film, but it’s something I felt compelled to expand upon. It’s the thing that sat with me the most after having some distance from my initial viewing. Aronofsky is an unquestionably gifted filmmaker, but it would be difficult to accuse him of generally making pleasant and/or traditionally enjoyable viewing experiences. He’s not one for popcorn escapism. Thus, it’s pretty remarkable how damn good he is at exercising that fun muscle more than 25 years into his directing career.
Darren Aronofsky usually makes movies that challenge audiences
“Requiem for a Dream” is a harrowing movie and one of Aronofsky’s greatest. It’s also unflinching and tough to watch. It’s probably one of those “I loved it and I’ll never watch it again” movies for lots of people. “The Fountain” is a distinctive epic. Even those who love it couldn’t rightfully accuse it of being fun, per se.
Then there’s Aronofsky’s character pieces. “The Wrestler” is a harrowing look at the sport of wrestling with a remarkable performance by Mickey Rourke. It’s also pretty damn depressing. “Black Swan” might be the closest thing to fun in his filmography previously, but that’s more of a “fun for sickos” exercise for the right sort of cinephile. For most viewers, it’s a pretty messed-up and intense watch. His movies often feel challenging in some way.
That brings us back to “Caught Stealing,” which feels much more akin to an early Guy Ritchie crime flick like “Snatch” than it does anything else in Aronofsky’s previous filmography. Much of that is owed to Charlie Huston’s novel on which it is based, with the author also personally penning the screenplay. It’s not like Aronofsky has never handled an adaptation before, with “Noah” being his take on a Biblical epic, but this is the first time he’s felt compelled to bring material to life that has a sense of joy in it. That lends itself to more broad, old-school entertainment as only movies can deliver.
That’s not to say that the film is a pure joy ride or anything like that. Hank goes through it. There is a fair amount of death and grizzly violence at the center of it all. There is a great deal of personal trauma. There is some gnarly imagery. It sure as heck doesn’t glorify violence either. But not unlike a Tarantino movie like “Reservoir Dogs,” it manages to be violent and seedy, while also being a more traditional good time at the movies. It’s a new gear for Aronofsky, but it’s also one that audiences would surely welcome more of in the future. Fun Aronofsky is a refreshing change of pace.
“Caught Stealing” is in theaters now.
