By Mark Fields
Collaboration Between Darling Actor and Director Offers No One to Champion
Austin Butler came to the public’s attention with his charismatic (and Oscar-nominated) star turn in Elvis in 2022. He further burnished that reputation as the malignant villain Feyd-Rautha in Dune II. The camera loves his glowering good looks and almost magnetic allure. It seems clear that director Darren Aronofsky was banking on those qualities when casting Butler as the lead in his new crime film Caught Stealing.
The problem with that decision is that the character Butler plays – a wayward, burned-out alcoholic bartender in 1990s New York – is so unsympathetic (as is nearly all of the characters in the drama) that Butler’s personal appeal cannot overcome the repellent nature of the story to make us want him to prevail. It’s so hard to invest in a thriller when you struggle to care what happens to any of the principal characters in it.
Butler plays Hank, an aimless former baseball player with a haunted past who is now drifting through his life in some of the grungier corners of New York. When his Brit-punk neighbor departs home quickly and leaves Hank to watch his cat, Hank finds himself accidentally embroiled in a raucous criminal turf war involving drugs and lots and lots of ill-gotten money.
Caught Stealing is supposed to be a (very) dark comedy, and indeed there are many potentially comedic moments and amusing minor characters, but the comedy gets buried under an overall tone that is unremittantly violent and nihilistic.
Director Aronofsky, celebrated for such films as Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, and Black Swan, demonstrates a frenetic fever-dream style in most of his films. The intent is to unbalance the viewer in ways that reflect the unbalanced nature of the characters on the screen. That approach is inherently in conflict with the expected rhythms of a comedy. At times, I found myself laughing (or at least smiling) and then immediately appalled with my own reaction in context.
Caught Stealing is not without its virtues. Aronofsky and his production team have done a remarkable job of re-creating the buoyant albeit grimy feel of 1990s New York.
Aronofsky has also assembled a stellar cast to support Butler, including Zoe Kravitz, Matt Smith, Regina King, Liev Schreiber, and Vincent D’Orofrio. There are some delightful cameos from Carol Kane and Griffin Dunne as well. They embody their dislikable, often ridiculous characters with relish.
The question remains: is this a group of people or a story that I would choose to spend a few hours with? For me, it’s a hard pass.
Official Trailer
