Austin Butler
Hank Thompson
Caught Stealing
“2 Russians, 2 Jews, and a Puerto Rican walk into a bar...”
2025
1h 47m
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Overview
Burned-out ex-baseball player Hank Thompson unexpectedly finds himself embroiled in a dangerous struggle for survival amidst the criminal underbelly of late 1990s New York City, forced to navigate a treacherous underworld he never imagined.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
3 min readThe Grime and the Glory of Surviving the Nineties
I spent the first twenty minutes of Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing waiting for the other shoe to drop. You cannot really blame me. If you have survived the psychological meat grinders of Requiem for a Dream or Mother's take is that , you go into an Aronofsky picture bracing for impact.
You expect characters to be punished for their hubris in increasingly grotesque ways. Instead, we get a chaotic, strangely buoyant 1990s crime caper about a washed-up baseball player who just wants to keep his neighbor's cat alive. I am not entirely sure Aronofsky knows how to make a straightforward comedy, but watching him try is endlessly compelling.
The director transports us back to 1998 New York City, which happens to be the exact time and place he shot his anxiety-inducing debut, Pi. Yet the city of Caught Stealing is not a monochrome nightmare. It is a glittering, grimy playground shot by his longtime cinematographer Matthew Libatique, where danger lurks behind every bodega door.
Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) is a former high school baseball phenom whose career ended in a tragic drunk-driving wreck. Now he pours drinks at a Lower East Side dive, nurses his guilt, and relies on his endlessly patient girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz). Then his punk-rock neighbor Russ (Matt Smith, sporting an aggressive acid-green mohawk) drops off his cat, Tonic, and skips town.
Audience Opinions
Audience 6.8/10
"A gritty, darkly comic 90s-style crime caper driven by Austin Butler and colorful supporting villains, undercut by overcomplicated writing and uneven tone."
The film lands as an entertaining, violent pulp thriller with a strong late-90s New York atmosphere, sharp production design, and a charismatic lead turn that keeps a chaotic story engaging. Stylish action, quirky mobsters, and a streak of very dark humor win over many, but the plotting grows convoluted, the tone lurches between goofy and brutal, and some viewers feel the script lacks personality beyond imitating better crime films. latestnetflix.com's take is that Reactions cluster around it being a fun, underrated throwback or a forgettable, try-hard Snatch imitation.
What viewers praise
- Charismatic lead performance Austin Butler’s grounded, out-of-his-depth protagonist is widely praised for anchoring the chaos and holding attention even when the story gets messy.
- Memorable supporting characters Orthodox mobster brothers, flamboyant gangsters, and other side characters are often singled out as scene-stealers who spike the energy whenever they appear.
- Strong 90s New York vibe The late-90s NYC setting, from wardrobe and music to grimy locations and baseball details, convinces those who lived through the era and adds flavor to the caper.
- Entertaining dark humor The mix of absurd situations, tense violence, and deadpan gags creates a pulpy, sometimes nerve‑wracking fun that some call one of their favorite crime rides of 2025.
- Fast, stylish action Abrupt fights, frantic chases, and bursts of gore are described as slick and impactful, giving the movie a propulsive, watchable rhythm, especially from the midpoint on.
Common complaints
- Overcomplicated story Twists pile up to the point that motivations and cause‑and‑effect become hard to follow, with several viewers calling the narrative needlessly convoluted and artificial.
- Uneven tonal balance The shift from marketing’s breezy caper promise to a much darker, nastier experience, plus swings between broad comedy and grim brutality, feels off for a significant chunk of viewers.
- Derivative crime pastiche The movie is frequently compared unfavorably to Snatch and post‑Pulp Fiction thrillers, criticized as a stylish but shallow imitation that offers little new beyond casting.
- Rough, forced writing Dialogue and character interactions are sometimes described as lame, unnatural, or cringe, with the script blamed more than the actors when scenes do not land.
- Thin emotional connection Despite backstory reveals and big shocks, several viewers report feeling little attachment to the protagonist or his relationships, so major turns hit more as plot mechanics than genuine drama.
Recommended for
90s crime throwback seekers Austin Butler fans Darkly comic crime thriller fans Pulp caper enthusiasts Darren Aronofsky completists
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsThey premiered a New York movie in Puerto Rico because Bad Bunny was in town.
Caught Stealing is set in 1998 on the Lower East Side. Its world premiere was August 7, 2025, in Guaynabo, about eight miles from Benito Martinez Ocasio's sold-out residency. Darren Aronofsky and Austin Butler showed as VIP guests. Sony still opened the picture wide on August 29. latestnetflix.com's take is that Then the cat-sitting caper did what adult crime movies did that fall.It missed. 
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Columbia and Protozoa spent a reported $40 million net. Some estimates put total costs closer to $65 million. Box Office Mojo has it at about $19 million domestic and $33 million worldwide. Rotten Tomatoes sat at 85% from 257 reviews. Audiences gave it a CinemaScore B. Deadline filed it with the fall adult-upscale misses. Collider later called the theatrical run a bomb that found a second life on streaming. Netflix dated the title for late November 2025. By early December, MovieWeb had it inside the U.S. Top 10. That is the new life cycle. Theaters shrug. The app keeps the lights on. , ,
Butler hung off the fire escape. Idles walked into the score by accident.
The book is Charlie Huston's 2004 novel, the first of a Hank Thompson trilogy. David Hayter and Patrick Wilson circled it in 2013. Sony and Aronofsky restarted it in March 2024 with Huston adapting his own pages and Butler attached from the announcement. Matt Smith, playing the mohawked neighbor Russ, said he auditioned four times. Carol Kane signed on to speak mostly Yiddish. Laura Dern is Hank's mother and goes uncredited. Principal photography started September 5, 2024, in New York. , 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mIvD-GN-p4
Aronofsky and cinematographer Matthew Libatique skipped a second unit on the Flushing Meadows chase. Variety reported Butler did his own stunts, including hanging off a fire escape ladder and driving the minivan. The score is Rob Simonsen's, recorded by Idles after Joe Talbot bumped into Aronofsky backstage at The Tonight Show. The band added five songs, including a Junior Murvin cover. At CinemaCon, Aronofsky talked about shooting pre-9/11 New York because "it was a great time to be young and alive." The official trailer still sells the setup in one line. He was just supposed to watch the cat. 
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Huston has more books. A sequel is a rumor until someone greenlights it. For now the movie lives where it was always going to live. On a couch. With a cat.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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