Caught Stealing (2025) Columbia/Comedy-Thriller RT: 107 minutes Rated R (strong violent content, pervasive language, some sexuality/nudity, brief drug use) Director: Darren Aronofsky Screenplay: Charlie Huston Music: Rob Simonsen and Idles Cinematography: Matthew Libatique Release date: August 29, 2025 (US) Cast: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoe Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Benito A. Martinez-Ocasio (Bad Bunny), Griffin Dunne, Carol Kane, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Nikita Kukushkin, Action Bronson, Will Brill, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai.
Rating: *** ½
I haven’t seen the kind of cinematic anarchy displayed in the comedic crime-thriller Caught Stealing since the 80s. Two movies spring immediately to mind: Alex Cox’s punk rock-fuelled sci-fi-comedy Repo Man (1984) and Penelope Spheeris’ neo-western Dudes (1987). I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) drew inspiration from these two cult favorites.
Austin Butler (Elvis) stars as Hank, a former high school baseball superstar who now tends bar at a joint in the East Village. The year is 1998 and Hank’s glory days are long behind him. He simply takes life as it comes, slinging drinks and hooking up with his paramedic girlfriend Yvonne (Kravitz, The Batman). One night, his friend and neighbor Russ (Smith, Doctor Who) asks him to take care of his cat while he returns home to the UK to see his ailing father. That’s not all Russ leaves Hank to deal with.
The next morning, Hank is attacked and severely injured by two Russian thugs (Kolokolnikov and Kukushkin) looking for Russ. He has something they want. Hank has no idea what they’re after; all he knows is it’s pretty damn important. Why else would so many people be anxious to get their hands on this thing? In addition to the Russian Mafia, he also has to deal with Puerto Rican crime boss Colorado (Ocasio, better known as rapper Bad Bunny) and a couple of gun-toting Hasidic mobsters, Lipa (Schreiber, Spotlight) and Shmully (D’Onofrio, Full Metal Jacket). The police, represented by Detective Roman (King, Ray), are also on him to give up what he knows.
So what is this thing they’re all after? It’s a key that unlocks a storage locker containing about $4M in drug money. Russ neglected to mention both the key and the money to Hank who accidentally finds it in a most unlikely place. Then he misplaces it while on a drunken bender. This, of course, angers all involved parties. Hank has to find the key and turn it over to the bad guys or else. He just has to remember what happened that night, not an easy task.
This August has been an unusually strong one with fewer bad movies than normal for a month known to be a dumping ground for studios. Granted, I haven’t seen The Roses yet, but let’s cross that bridge when we get there. Caught Stealing is the second film in as many weeks with cult potential (the first being Honey Don’t). I can definitely see it playing midnight shows at some independent theater the size of a shoebox. It has such a strong punk rock vibe and not just because one of the characters (i.e. Russ) wears a mohawk and a leather jacket straight from the Zipperhead fashion line. Aronofsky, as per usual, makes Caught Stealing exactly the way he wants it and doesn’t give a f*** what the mainstream thinks of it. It’s not for them anyway. I’m just surprised it’s being released by one of the majors instead of some smaller indie studio.
I just thought of another cult movie Caught Stealing reminds me of, especially as it pertains to its protagonist. Hank reminds me a bit of the title character played by Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski. He’s kind of easy-going and definitely clueless as to what’s going on around him. When he first encounters the Russian thugs, he’s more worried about his bagel than the threat they pose to his well-being. He also has a penchant for making bad things worse with poor choices. The biggest difference is that the situation he gets up to his neck in isn’t a shaggy dog tale.
The cast does a great job in Caught Stealing, both individually and as an ensemble. Butler is a great leading man. Hank may seem like a simple person on the surface. He has little to no ambition in life. He likes to drink. He loves baseball. He calls his mother every day. He’s a bit more complex than that though. He’s been dealing with guilt over the car accident that ended his promising career and took the life of his best friend. Also, he’s forced to quit drinking after the attack cost him one of his kidneys. He’s dealing with all that while trying not to be killed by vicious criminals. Butler does a flawless job tying all of this together.
Kravitz is similarly good as the girlfriend who cares about Hank. She’s always there to pick him up when he falls even if he doesn’t always appreciate it. I don’t want to say too much about King’s character except watch out for her. She’s a tricky one. Ocasio, who can currently be seen on Netflix in Happy Gilmore 2, shows he has the makings of a solid actor. Griffin Dunne (After Hours) and Carol Kane (The Princess Bride) show up as Hank’s boss and the Hasidic brothers’ beloved Bubbe respectively. Also, there’s a funny surprise cameo at the end.
The score, composed by Rob Simonsen and performed by post-punk band Idles, blows a hole through the screen. It drives the action like diesel fuel. The gritty cinematography by Matthew Libatique nicely recaptures the look of the Lower East Side at the start of a period of transition. Gentrification was draining the area of its personality in the late 90s. It’s nice to see it as it used to be.
I don’t know how Caught Stealing will fare at the box office. It’s not likely to be a hit. It’s more likely to find its audience on streaming. I truly hope it’s discovered. It’s great!
