Darren Aronofsky is not exactly known for his sense of humor. His early work—”Pi,” “Requiem for a Dream,” “The Wrestler”—was defined by a visceral, rampaging style: a tightrope walk between the sublime and the ridiculous, where protagonists were routinely put through the emotional wringer. But in his late period, Aronofsky has felt less like an artist exploring new forms and more like a filmmaker desperate not to be boxed in—an auteur wrestling with his own insecurity.
His latest film, “Caught Stealing,” feels like yet another case of this. From the jump, Aronofsky seems very eager for us to read this one as his version of “After Hours,” Scorsese’s one-crazy-night comedy classic. Just as he loudly framed “Mother!” as his hallucinatory retelling of the Book of Genesis, “Caught Stealing” arrives with built-in instructions: think “After Hours,” but with more bruises. Never before has a director wanted to be part of the New Hollywood generation more than Darren Aronofsky. But Aronofsky is no David Lynch. And he’s certainly no Martin Scorsese.
Echoing ‘After Hours’
If it sounds like I’m being unduly mean to Aronofsky and his ninth feature—a crime/black comedy/survive-the-night movie—that’s because I am.
The premise is straight out of the grimy, mid-2000s video store aisle: Hank Thompson (played with shaggy charm by Austin Butler) is a former baseball player turned New York City bartender who gets roped into an escalating series of misadventures after agreeing to cat-sit for his sketchy, punk-rock neighbor (Matt Smith). Soon, a parade of gangsters, lowlifes, and assorted weirdos are all after him, and he’s fighting to make it through the night.
Aronofsky clearly wants this to echo “After Hours”—a film that manages to contain a dreamlike psychological experience while delivering big laughs and fully utilizing its ensemble. But instead, I was more reminded of “Running Scared” (Paul Walker, not Hines/Crystal) or “Judgment Night.” The kind of “We have Scorsese/Tarantino/Guy Ritchie at home” movies you’d find on the bottom shelf of a Blockbuster. But honestly? On those terms, it’s pretty fun. Disposable, yes, but also energetic and unpretentious in a way Aronofsky hasn’t been in a long time.
‘Caught Stealing’ is Fun Enough
He wisely tones down his usual sensibilities to deliver a more crowd-pleasing New York riff, with scenes primarily set in cramped apartments, grimy streets, subways, and dive bars. Aronofsky trades in his usual camera trickery for more grounded, fixed setups, letting the environment and cast carry the chaos.
As a vehicle for Butler, it’s a fun movie star showcase. And it sports a surprisingly great ensemble, with the big standout being a pair of Hasidic gangster brothers straight out of a Coen brothers movie, played by Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio, both clearly having a blast.
At the end of the day, “Caught Stealing” is fun enough. It’s a cracked genre piece that works better as a slightly sleazy midnight movie than it does as a self-conscious homage. For once, Aronofsky’s attempts to be someone else don’t drag the film down completely. Maybe because—for once—he seems to be having a little fun with it, too.
And at this point in his career, a fun, dumb, crime movie is far easier to root for than another high-concept descent into AI technocrat angst.
