When we think of Darren Aronofsky’s cinema, what comes to mind? Titles like Requiem for a Dream, Mother! and The Whale always bring a sense of discomfort—whether you like them or not—from disturbed characters in strange, sometimes bizarre settings. That’s why it feels so strange and curious to come across a film like Caught Stealing, Aronofsky’s new work, hitting theaters this Thursday, the 28th.
What’s the story of Caught Stealing?
The plot, which feels like a collage of ideas pulled from Guy Ritchie and the Coen brothers, follows Hank (Austin Butler). He’s a former baseball player, once a promising talent, now living in a cramped dump. His life changes, without him realizing it, when his punk neighbor (Matt Smith) goes on a trip and leaves his cat in Hank’s care. That simple act triggers a wave of violence, as the protagonist is mistaken for an ally of the neighbor, who owes money to Ukrainian mobsters and even two violent Jewish brothers.
From there, Aronofsky—in the “least Aronofsky” film of his career—delivers a genuinely funny comedy of errors, though lacking in personality, about these characters coming and going in a whirlwind of violence. Hank seems to get no respite. Everything around him starts to collapse. And he has absolutely nothing to do with it, nor does he even understand what’s happening. Violence and humor intertwine, without one overtaking the other.
This means, in general terms, that Caught Stealing is a film with both a Side A and a Side B. There’s situational humor, typical of the Coen brothers, while there’s also a gritty urban cinema, about characters on the margins, with the flavor of Guy Ritchie, trying to survive in the concrete jungle that is New York sometime in the last century. Two elements that work, even if in dissonance, here and there, producing a satisfying result on the big screen.
Where is Darren Aronofsky?
The big question surrounding Caught Stealing, which also boasts a strong cast led by Butler (Dune: Part II) and strong supporting actors like Zoë Kravitz, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Matt Smith, is the lack of personality in the production. Since Pi, Aronofsky has built a sort of persona around his name and his cinema. He’s strange, provocative, somewhat bizarre—and certainly polarizing, with people loving to hate everything he does.
Of course, a filmmaker can test limits, languages, and genres. Just look at the careers of Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Alfonso Cuarón. These are filmmakers who were never satisfied being just one thing—they were everything they wanted to be and more. They made dramas, sci-fi, comedies. Aronofsky, even if far from those names, has the right to go beyond. The problem is the pasteurization of risk.
Different perspectives
When Kubrick directed comedy, his hand and personality were clear. You could feel it was the same brilliant mind behind 2001, The Shining and Dr. Strangelove. There were ideas and concepts that connected. This Darren Aronofsky film, as effective as it may be in its goals, feels like an apathetic work by the director. As if it were just to fulfill producers’ objectives. The director’s signature is nowhere to be found. It’s a problem that keeps growing in cinema, increasingly chasing generic formulas for streaming.
Aronofsky practically hides in Caught Stealing. He delivers a funny, well-acted film with good moments of tension, but it never truly takes off precisely because of the lack of will to make cinema. It’s a product interested in ticking boxes and following formulas. And since we’re talking about Aronofsky, that couldn’t be worse. Cinema needs confrontation, it needs ideas. When all that fades, it’s time to ask what path remains.
