Darren Aronofsky’s films usually feel like events, for better and for worse. His films work for me some of the time. For instance, I found his 2017 film mother! to be a work of mad genius, and I thought his last film The Whale did just about everything wrong. His next film is releasing on Labor Day weekend in the United States, had not screened at any film festivals (his films usually do) and has a marketing campaign that has left me unimpressed. But I still showed up last Saturday night when my local theater did an ‘early access’ screening. Caught Stealing is an adaptation of the Charlie Huston novel of the same name, adapted by the author. And this whole thing worked out significantly better than I was expecting.

Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) was a onetime aspiring professional baseball player whose dreams didn’t work out for reasons we learn over the course of the film. We open on New York’s Lower East Side in 1998, and he’s just completed a bartending shift and is going home with his girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz). His neighbor Russ (Matt Smith), who’s involved with some shady characters, asks Hank to take care of his cat while he’s out of town. Little does Hank know, Russ has just implicated him in an increasingly bizarre and terrifying situation involving drugs, murder and the mafia.

Caught Stealing is unhinged, bizarre and a whole lot of fun. It’s kind of cool to see Aronofsky not settling into any kind of formula, or playing the greatest hits of his career. Caught Stealing kind of feels unlike anything the filmmaker’s done before, but a lot of his signature themes are present, and it’s clear where he found inspiration. There’s a lot of Guy Ritchie here, a lot of After Hours, and a lot of Uncut Gems. And maybe if I’d read the novel this was based on before seeing the film, I would have had a better idea what to expect, but instead I just had this film’s trailer, which I was not impressed by. The film is zippy, exciting, sexy, violent and could not have less in common with Aronofsky’s previous film The Whale, and thank goodness for that. What’s even better, Caught Stealing finds the filmmaker in a looser, more freestyle sensibility. You can tell he’s not trying to win any awards with this, and that gives the entire viewing experience some much-needed levity.

Austin Butler received criticism after some argued he got a little too into character for his Oscar-nominated turn in Elvis. It seemed like he was over-using the Elvis voice in interviews. He’s struggled a bit to find his place in Hollywood since then, but I’m confident this is the movie, and the performance that will really push him into his true star power. He’s so good here, and this is the kind of film where if the central performance isn’t doing what it needs to, the rest of the film falls apart. Butler is giving you the swaggering, slick, old-Hollywood movie star charisma he’s established he’s capable of in films like Elvis and The Bikeriders, but he pushes it to a new level here. Butler’s Hank is tormented by something awful that happened in his past, and the way Butler handles the dichotomy between what’s really going on with this guy, and what he wants everyone to think, is incredibly striking. I’ve heard people say a Darren Aronofsky movie is like an endurance test for actors, because the director famously loves to put his leads through the wringer in memorable ways. And Austin Butler passes this test with flying colors. 

We also have a pretty stacked supporting cast here. Regina King stars as Roman, a police officer trying to help Hank, who may or may not be as genuine as she initially seems. This is one of King’s best roles in awhile, and I really enjoyed her here. We also have Zoe Kravitz as Yvonne, Hank’s girlfriend. And I would’ve liked there to be a little more to her character, but Kravitz is game for what’s on the page. A near-unrecognizable Matt Smith is clearly having fun as Hank’s neighbor Russ, who sets this whole mess into motion. We also have Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Griffin Dunne, Yuri Kolokolnikov and the musician Bad Bunny (credited as Benito A. Martinez Ocasio) as shadowy organized crime figures that come in and out of this story. Everyone seems to really be having a good time with this, and every member of this ensemble is bringing an enjoyable, unique energy to this. We also have the great Carol Kane in one standout scene. Oh also, the cat Bud (played primarily by Pet Semetary (2019)’s Tonic), is one of the all-time great movie cats. If you’re a cat person, I think you’ll enjoy this movie.

The technical aspects here are also predictably top-notch for an Aronofsky film. The director once again reteams with his usual cinematographer, the Oscar-nominated Matthew Libatique. There’s a grainy, old-fashioned look to this film that gives it the feeling it belongs in its gritty ‘90s New York setting, and gives it authenticity. Rob Simonsen, another previous collaborator for Aronofsky, returns to compose the score, and while nothing about that really stood out to me, I will say the music supervision here is fantastic. You don’t necessarily have the needle drops you might expect in a movie like this, and I enjoyed those choices. Also notable is Mark Friedberg’s production design, which does a terrific job of bringing the viewer into this underground crime world, and making it feel textured and detailed. I mention all of this, because if these details were executed in the wrong way, none of this would work. And I’m thrilled to report it does.

Caught Stealing might be Darren Aronofsky’s most mainstream film to date – there’s a lot I think audiences are going to like here. And while this feels like something different for the filmmaker, it’s got just enough of his signature touches to send fans out happy. It’s also just a very fun time at the movies. Caught Stealing is intense, nerve-wracking, and very entertaining. It melds the crime thriller and the screwball comedy together in some really effective ways. It’s paced at a breathless clip, it doesn’t overstay its welcome, and it’s anchored by perhaps the best work Austin Butler has done so far. Considering we’re in the doldrums of late August, when the cinema is usually a deserted wasteland, something this fun and exciting coming along is pretty rare.  It’s easy to pick apart this plot as it becomes more complicated, but if you’re along for this ride, you’ll have a good time.