There have been many films in which the nice guy gets swept up in a friend or a neighbor’s criminal life, by joining them or being used as a patsy. Caught Stealing doesn’t break the mold, but this is a great variation on the theme.
Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) was a high school phenom at baseball. Coached to greatness by his mother, he was days away from being picked in the MLB draft, hopefully by their beloved San Francisco Giants. That dream ended in a car wreck that killed his friend and badly damaged his knee.
A few years later, the story finds him working as a bartender in a dive bar in New York City. The best thing in his life is his EMT girlfriend, Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz). They may be getting serious.
Then comes the night when his wild next-door neighbor, Russ (Matt Smith), races home to Great Britain to be with his sick Dad, leaving Hank to watch his cat, Bud.
From here on out, you need to pay close attention to the screen because everything happens at a nearly breakneck speed as first the Russian mobsters, then a NY Police detective, and then the Hasidic mobsters, all make Hank’s life one huge bloody mess as people die one after the other.
I think that Austin Butler does director Aronofsky proud as Hank. My favorite characters in this film are the two Hasidic brothers Lipa (Liev Schreiber) and Shmully Drucker (Vincent D’Onofrio), and their Bubbe (Carol Kane). Schreiber and Kane were obvious choices for their characters, but D’Onofrio surprised me!
Caught Stealing is a wild ride, if you can keep up with the subplots and Bud the cat!
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Cast: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Benito Martínez Ocasio, Griffin Dunne, and Carol Kane
MPA Rating: R (for strong violent content, pervasive language, some sexuality/nudity, and brief drug use)
Selig Rating: 4.5 Stars
Runtime: 107 Min.
Release Date: 08/29/2025
Language: English
Genre(s): Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Trailer: CAUGHT STEALING Official Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
4 Stars – Good movie
3 Stars – OK movie
2 Stars – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
1 Star – Good that I saw it on the big screen, but wish I hadn’t paid for it.