A One Mann’s Movies review of “Caught Stealing” (2025, 4*, 15).
I actually had a blast at the cinema with this new Darren Aronofsky film, “Caught Stealing”.
Wait… WHAT?
Darren Aronofsky? The director of such heavy duty films as “Black Swan”; “mother!” and “The Whale“? THAT Darren Aronofsky?
Yep. You heard me right. This is Aronofsky letting his hair down and doing it in style. I’ve seen this described online as Aronofsky in his Guy Ritchie phase. I can see this to a degree, except this movie is a significant cut above any version that Ritchie has brought out.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Lipa and Shmully (Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio). (Source: Columbia Pictures)
Plot:
It’s New York, 1998. Barman Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) gets more than he bargains for when he agrees to look after the cat belonging to his neighbour Russ (Matt Smith). In a case of mistaken identity, Hank and his girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz) get put in significant danger when local gangs try to get something that Russ has been hiding.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Very strong language, strong bloody violence, threat, drug misuse, sex”.)
Talent:
Starring: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Griffin Dunne, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Bad Bunny, Nikita Kukushkin, Yuri Kolokolnikov.
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky.
Written by: Charlie Huston (based on his novel).
Running Time: 1h 47m.
Summary:
Positives:
- A violent screwball comedy-thriller, this is solid entertainment for 107 minutes.
- Austin Butler delivers a blistering performance and Butler and Kravitz have crazy sexual chemistry.
- Top-class film-making with great direction, cinematography and editing.
- The cat – Bud – makes for a cute co-star.
Negatives:
- Matt Smith’s accent.
- Cat lovers may have a problem with one plot-point.
Full Review of “Caught Stealing”:
Hi-octane thrills with a solid backstory
The story is nothing new: an ordinary guy caught up in dirty business just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. All very “North by Northwest”. But this one is done with such verve and panache that I was swept up in it and had probably the most FUN that I’ve had in the cinema in 2025 with this one.
The plot involves Hank (Butler) being caught up between his neighbour Russ (Matt Smith); warring gangsters (some Russian; some Hasidic Jews) and the NYPD, led by Detective Roman (Regina King). There is a lot of violence; a degree of gore but a good number of laughs along the way with some scenes veering towards pantomime slapstick.
The scenes with Roman (Regina King) I found particularly entertaining. Interplays between them involves her goading him then releasing the tension with “I’m fucking with you… you never know what’ll pop out”!
Hank is a well-crafter three-dimensional character.
Two elements give Hank as a character some emotional depth:
The first is a backstory about how his dream of being a great American baseball player was snatched away. This gets revealed progressively with some very well-delivered nightmare flashbacks. The consequences of the event are beautifully enacted through what Hank can and can’t comfortably do these many years later and you see how the stress and guilt he carries has directly led to his drinking problem.
The second is his relationship with cute paramedic Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz) who is in turns deeply in love with him and massively frustrated with his evident flaws. The chemistry between Butler and Kravitz is off-the-charts, reminding me of Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield in the wonderful “We Live in Time“. But whereas Pugh & Garfield was love-based; Butler & Kravitz’s chemistry is lust-based. A sex scene early in the film is as erotic as hell: not overly explicit (the cat got to see everything!), but just sensual and electric.
Hank also loves his mother, over the other side of the country, and is forever having to have daily calls with her. “Go Giants!”
Technically beautiful.
The film technically pulls out all the stops. 1998 New York (with the twin towers sadly looming in the background) looks suitably grimy and dangerous with production design top notch; the cinematography by Aronofsky regular Matthew Libatique is gorgeous; and the editing by Andrew Weisblum (another Aronofsky regular) had me massively impressed. The pace of the film is phenomenal, making two hours fly by.
Credit (no pun intended) must also go to the producer of the end credits which are utterly different and utterly memorable. See the “monkey” section below.
Don’t play the Dick Van Dyke joke if you can’t do the time!
Where I did have some issue was with Matt Smith as the “Cockney-geezer” Russ. At one point, Hank puts on an accent imitating Russ and Russ lambasts him for going all “Dick Van Dyke” on him. But Smith’s accent in the film is actually as bad as Van Dyke’s in “Mary Poppins”! It all seems really unnecessary. Either cast a proper Cockney geezer in the role, or else have Smith talk in his normal British accent.
Nothing can beat Robert Downey Jr.’s butchering of the Welsh accent in “Dolittle“, but this performance certainly joins the likes of Russell Crowe in “Robin Hood” in the ‘accents hall of shame’.
Cat lovers….
One of the stars of the show is the cat, Bud, played by Tonic. Poor Bud has to put up with a lot in this film and at one point is the target of the Russian’s anger. Although not seen, the aftermath (not fatal) is seen and made one lady in my screening go “OHHH!” out-loud. Just a warning, since this sort of think can ruin an avid-cat-lover’s night.
Monkeys?
Yes, there are ‘monkeys’ in the end credits. One, very early in the titles, involves a superbly surprising cameo from a major star. Another a little later in the credits features a return of Bud the cat… very very briefly.
But then make sure you stay beyond that for the end credit roll. This is one of the most surprising and innovative end credits I think I have ever seen. It is done over a really grungy, punky track (I’m not sure what it is) but everytime a funky guitar riff squeals, the multicoloured titles go CRAZY! Sometimes they scroll up, sometimes down, sometimes sideways. It’s very entertaining!
Summary Thoughts:
Oh man…. my Top 20 for this year is going to be so, so tough to put together, I think it will depend on how my impression of some of these movies persists with time. I think I will also have to lock myself in a room and watch some of these again, assuming they will be available on streaming before the end of the year. Because this is a film I really rated, just because it was such a fun watch.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mIvD-GN-p4.
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