- Austin Butler, Vincent D'Onofrio, Zoe Kravitz, Liev Schreiber, Matt Smith
- August 29th 2025
- 107
- Darren Aronofsky
Austin Butler’s Hank unexpectedly becomes a target for a bunch of criminals after he’s asked to look after his neighbour’s cat.
Director Darren Aronofsky is best known for making dark and depressing films like Requiem for a Dream and The Whale. But with his new film, Caught Stealing, he has made something completely different.
Set in ’90s New York City, this crime comedy thriller follows Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), a barman whose dreams of being a baseball player were cut short by a car accident.
When his British punk rocker neighbour Russell (Matt Smith) asks him to look after his cat while he goes back home, Hank unexpectedly ends up in a web of criminal activity, with two Russians, two Jews and a Puerto Rican on his tail, convinced he knows where Russell is hiding their money. But he doesn’t!
Finally letting loose and having fun after all these years, Aronofsky delivers a lightweight and entertaining crime caper with almost non-stop shoot-outs, fist fights, and chases, and Butler being brutally beaten up over and over again.
This isn’t a full-on comedy, but a somewhat silly outing with a dark sense of humour, so you may find yourself laughing here and there.
The overall plot is pretty thin, and some of the twists and turns aren’t as exciting as they should be, but there are a lot of compelling scenes, plenty of eccentric characters and a gritty and grungy vibe, which all make up for the so-so story.
Butler often transforms for his roles, from putting on a distinctive accent to wearing prosthetics, but he speaks and looks like himself here.
He proves that he doesn’t need to hide behind all those bells and whistles because he is a charming leading man without them.
In the supporting cast, Zoe Kravitz is radiant and has sizzling chemistry with Butler, Smith is hilarious thanks to his Cockney accent and over-the-top performance, and Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio are memorable as Jewish criminals Lipa and Schmully. Tonic the Cat also deserves a shout-out for stealing focus as Russell’s pet Bud.
Caught Stealing boasts a movie star performance from Butler and is significantly more entertaining than it may seem.
In cinemas from Friday 29th August.
By Hannah Wales.
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