Caught Stealing

2025   Sony Pictures Releasing

Rated:  R

Length:  1 hr 47min

Crime ~ Comedy ~ Thriller

Directed by:  Darren Aronofsky

Starring:  Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Benito Martínez Ocasio, Griffin Dunne, Carol Kane, Yuri Kolokolnikov and Nikita Kukushkin.

2 Russians, 2 Jews And A Puerto Rican Walk Into A Bar….

Caught Stealing is based on The Crime Novel of the same name by American author Charlie Huston, first published on January 1, 2004.

Henry “Hank” Thompson (Austin Butler) is a bartender living in New York’s Lower East Side. He is a washed up former Baseball Player whose major league ambitions were dashed in a drunken car wreck. Hank survived, but his best friend was killed, and it left Hank with a lot of guilt as well as a drinking problem. After closing the bar and heading home to his apartment, he meets his Punk Rock neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) in the hallway. He tells Hank that his father died and he has to fly to London immediately. He asks him to watch his cranky cat, Bud while he is gone. Hank protests but Russ won’t here of it, forces the cat and the key on him and leaves. It seems simple enough but things go south fast when a pair of brutal Russian mobsters (Yuri Kolokolnikov and Nikita Kukushkin) show up looking for Russ, beating Hank so badly he ends up in the hospital in emergency surgery losing a kidney.

A narcotics detective named Elise Roman (Regina King) questions him and hints at Russ’s shady drug connections to the infamous Hasidic Drucker brothers (Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio). Hank denies that he did anything wrong and tells her that Russ only asked him to watch his cat, and he has no idea why the mobsters beat him so savagely. Hank’s girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz) assists Hank back to his apartment after being released. Back home Hank discovers a mysterious key stashed in Bud’s litter box hidden in fake plastic cat poop. He decides to go down to the bar to talk to his boss about missing two days while he was in the hospital. He calls Detective Roman and tells her about the key and proceeds to tie one on while he processes recent events. When Hank comes to the next morning in his apartment, the two Russian Mobsters and a Puerto Rican named Colorado (Benito Martínez Ocasio aka Bad Bunny) threaten him with more violence unless he tells them where the key is.

Things go downhill quickly from there as Hank​’s girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz) gets caught in the crossfire, leaving him reeling as he dodges beatings, betrayals, and double-crosses from Roman, the Russians, and the Druckers. He hides out, retrieves clues from unexpected spots like abandoned clothes, and scrambles to protect Bud the cat while piecing together who’s after what. Everyone wants that key, and Hank’s past regrets fuel his fight to stay alive amid the chaos of the Lower East Side underworld.​ Bodies pile up and alliances shatter, Hank races through bars, subways, and shadowy deals, outsmarting killers with quick thinking and sheer luck. He confronts lies from those closest to the mess, weighing loyalty against survival in a city that chews up the weak. The stakes skyrocket with threats hitting personal levels, forcing Hank to tap into the grit that once made him a ballplayer.

Austin Butler shines in this gritty urban thriller, and at times it reminds me of his role in Elvis. He has a very distinctive voice full of southern charm, I honestly can’t believe he didn’t win an Oscar for that. Zoë Kravitz brings fiery vulnerability as Yvonne, Hank’s girlfriend. Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio are hilariously menacing as the two Hasidic Drucker brothers Lipa and Shmully. Caught Stealing delivers a pulpy, high-octane thrill ride through 1998 NYC’s gritty underworld, blending brutal action, dark humor, and relentless twists that keep you hooked from the first beatdown.

Highly Recommended!

Now streaming on Netflix!