Matt Smith Archives - Sean Kelly On Movies

A New York bartender accidentally finds himself the target of multiple underworld thugs in Caught Stealing. It is 1998, and former baseball player Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) has resigned himself to life as a New York City bartender, though he has a bright spot in his relationship with a paramedic, Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz). Arriving home one night, Hank is asked by his London punk neighbour, Russ Binder (Matt Smith), to look after his cat Bud, as Russ returns to the UK to care for his father. However, the next day, Hank is hospitalized after he is beaten by Russian thugs, Pavel (Nikita Kukushkin) and Aleksei (Yuri Kolokolnikov), who were looking for money that Russ owes them. Hank soon learns that Russ also owes money to Puerto Rican gangster Colorado (Benito Martínez Ocasio) and Hasidic Jewish drug dealers, Lipa (Liev Schreiber) and Shmully (Vincent D'Onofrio) Drucker. Seeking the help of Det. Elise Roman (Regina King), Hank tries to find a way to get himself out of the mess he has gotten himself into. Caught Stealing Synopsis Caught Stealing is a dark comedy crime thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Whale), based on the novel of the same name by Charlie Huston, who also wrote the film's screenplay. The film stars Austin Butler (The Bikeriders, Elvis), a possibly alcoholic bartender, who is haunted by a car crash from many years ago, which ruined his baseball career and killed his best friend, Dale (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai). However, Hanks gets by thanks to his relationship with Yvonne, played by Zoë Kravitz (The Batman), and regular phone calls with his mother, played by an uncredited Laura Dern, about the San Francisco Giants' playoff chances. However, things turn sideways for Hank when his neighbour, Russ, played by a scene-stealing Matt Smith (Last Night in Soho), suddenly asks Hank to care for his cat. It turns out that Russ has been acting as a banker for various thugs in NYC's underworld, who want their cut of the $4 million Russ has in his possession. Hank finds himself the target of these thugs, who want him to lead them to the money or else they will hurt everyone Hank cares about. My Thoughts on Caught Stealing Caught Stealing is arguably the most mainstream film to be directed by Darren Aronofsky. The film is a far cry from his early films, such as Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain and even more modern classics, such as The Wrestler and Black Swan. Given the film's late-1990s setting, it can be argued that Caught Stealing is going for a similar vibe to the early films of Guy Ritchie, particularly Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. While Caught Stealing ends up being a fine darkly comic crime thriller, the film does make some decisions that left a bad taste in my mouth. Without revealing too much, I will just say that it involves the sudden exit of one of the protagonists, as the latest example of an overused and much-criticized plot device. This moment really changes the tone of Caught Stealing, making it feel less fun. On top of the eclectic ensemble cast that includes Austin Butler, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk), Benito Martínez Ocasio (aka Bad Bunny), Liev Schreiber, and Vincent D'Onofrio, Caught Stealing also has some notable stars in small roles. This includes Griffin Dunne (An American Werewolf in London, After Hours) as Hank's boss, Paul and Carol Kane as the Matzah ball soup-serving Bubbe of the Drucker Brothers. It could also be argued that the cat, Bud, is also a character in itself. Overall, I would call Caught Stealing an OK crime film, but a lesser Darren Aronofsky film. My opinion on the film might have been a bit higher if it weren't for the sudden character exit less than halfway through the film. I can't use the term for this exit without spoilers, but it's really something that we don't need to see in films anymore.

Matt Smith

Caught Stealing

Last Night in Soho

Last Night in Soho – TIFF21

Terminator: Genisys