Aronofsky pivots with Caught Stealing: a lean, late-90s NYC thriller

Darren Aronofsky makes a pronounced pivot with Caught Stealing, a lean, fast-moving crime thriller set in late 1990s New York that blends his signature intensity with a more accessible, communal energy. Adapted from Charlie Huston’s 2004 novel, the film follows Hank Thompson, a former high school baseball star turned bar bartender in the Lower East Side, who is drawn into a dangerous cat-and-mouse game after agreeing to watch his punk neighbor’s cat. As Russian mobsters, Orthodox Jewish gangs, and a keen detective circle in, Hank must improvise his way out of escalating peril, all while the Twin Towers loom over a city still shaping itself around gentrification.

The film is a registered love letter to New York, shot on location and anchored by a grittily atmospheric portrait of the city in 1998. Ophisticated production work captures a neighborhood on the cusp of change, with a soundtrack and sonic design that heighten the pace and anxiety. The cast anchors the piece with distinct, larger-than-life turns that flesh out Aronofsky’s more playful approach. Austin Butler conveys Hank’s everyman charm and unraveling sense of control with a performance that sits between vulnerability...