Austin Butler got “Caught Stealing” the hearts of fans yet again as Hank Thompson in Darren Aronofsky’s latest film.
Butler avoids typecast allegations superbly well with this film by continuing to show his incredible range as an actor. He is also known for his roles in “Elvis” and “Dune: Part 2,” as well as on TV in “Zoey 101,” “Switched at Birth” and “The Carrie Diaries.” In this movie Butler plays a mid-20s bartender tormented by his past and failure to become the next “superstar” pro baseball player for the San Francisco Giants. As his catsitting gig goes sideways and every mafia member in New York is after him, he gets roped into a mess.
Starring alongside Butler is Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Bad Bunny and Regina King – each delivering excellent performances. However, it can be argued that the best performance of the film was done by none other than Tonic, the cat actor who plays Bud. The feline played a fundamental role as the comic relief, balancing out the brutal scenes with something fluffy and funny.
Fans of Aronofsky’s other films were surprised to see this genre of action-packed crime comedy-thriller, as some of his other work includes “The Whale,” “Mother,” and “Black Swan.” However, to me this film fit right in with the universe that he created in 2000 with his movie “Requiem For A Dream.” Each film is set in New York, and consists of people trying to outrun their past in the big city. Both movies, oddly enough, were also adaptations of novels. “Requiem For A Dream” was adapted from Hubert Selby Jr. ‘s novel, and “Caught Stealing” was adapted from a 2004 novel of the same name by Charlie Huston. So for me it only makes sense a novel written around the same time that “Requiem For A Dream” came out, set also in New York would carry similar energy and characters to Aronofsky’s latest film.
Aside from the well known cast, the film succeeded in a number of different ways. The pacing was excellent, moving quickly to keep the viewer feeling as in a hurry as the character of Hank was. There was no room for fluff (unless we are talking cats) while there was the major comic relief behind the cat character Bud, the film really didn’t hold back any punches in the real life aspects of this story. There was no sugar coating, which if you’ve seen any other Aronofsky film you should already be aware of. The movie also did a great job of choreographing action scenes that mimicked baseball plays, tying into Hank’s backstory and creating a coherent thread throughout the movie.
Despite what the box office may reflect, I think action films like this one are making a comeback to theaters after seemingly being shelved to the streamable platforms for a few years now. With sequels like “Nobody 2,” discussed last week, or even “One of them Days” and films like this one, my prediction is that there will be more action laced comedies and thrillers with an early 2000 feeling, as we wrap up 2025 and move into 2026.
With as much enthusiasm as Hank shouts “Go Giants!” I shout “go watch Caught Stealing!” Earning 3.5 peppers out of 5.