At first blush, Darren Aronofsky seems like the least-likely candidate for something like Caught Stealing. Sony’s new crime caper, adapted from Charlie Huston’s 2004 novel of the same name, was positioned as a spicy— if razor-edged — late-summer romp, leaning heavier on the central romance between its red-hot stars than on the dark action that threatens to tear them apart. It felt like the latest offering from Edgar Wright or Guy Ritchie, not the guy who gave us Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream.
But Caught Stealing actually has a lot more than smoldering romance on its mind, and up its sleeve. Aronofsky wastes little time reminding us that he is, in fact, the guy who’s delivered some of the most gonzo thrillers this side of the millennium. After two claustrophobic crash-out films in Mother! and The Whale, the director is back to his old stomping grounds, and all the better for it. Caught Stealing is the breath of fresh air Aronofsky’s needed: it’s just as chaotic and cruel as his past efforts, sometimes to its detriment, but it keeps its foot on the gas with enough determination to distract and, eventually, delight. Spoilers ahead.
