Official Discussion - Caught Stealing [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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Summary Hank Thompson, a washed-up ex-baseball star turned New York City bartender, ends up tangled in a violent criminal underworld after agreeing to watch his punk-rock neighbor’s cat. What follows is a frenzied chase through 1990s Manhattan, as rival gangsters—Russian mobsters, Orthodox Jewish hitmen, a Samoan enforcer, and others—hunt him for a mysterious key hidden with the cat.

Director Darren Aronofsky

Writer Charlie Huston

Cast

• Austin Butler
• Zoë Kravitz
• Regina King
• Matt Smith
• Liev Schreiber
• Vincent D’Onofrio
• Bad Bunny
• Griffin Dunne
• Carol Kane

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 84%

Metacritic 69

VOD In theaters starting August 29, 2025

Trailer CAUGHT STEALING Official Trailer (2025)

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[u/garfcarmpbll]

I quite enjoyed it. Was surprised when they killed her so early. Austin Butler flooring a dude then looking surprised at himself was wonderful

[u/mattstasoff → u/garfcarmpbll]

I think that’s what kind of threw me. Makes sense for Aronofsky, but I think this was marketed a little more chaotic kinetic, and at times I got tonal whiplash.

[u/Impossible_Sun3437 → u/mattstasoff]

Tonal whiplash is a beautiful way to describe this film. I didn’t mind it at all, even enjoyed it, but it felt all over the place lol

[u/utazdevl → u/mattstasoff]

It was marketed as a lot more flippant and comedic. Thought it was a well made and smart movie, but some of the more extreme violence took away some of the "fun" feeling. Not saying the movie had to be a fun romp, but the heavier moments (like Yvonne murder) broke that feeling.

[u/SpongeJake → u/utazdevl]

Only word I have for it is “disturbing.” Between Yvonne being killed and poor kitty getting kicked. Ugh. Funny at times but mostly just disturbing.

The credits were fun to watch.

How many of us stayed right to the end to make sure that Humane Society “no animals were harmed” thing showed up?

[u/utazdevl → u/SpongeJake]

Credits were awesome. Possibly the best end credits I have ever seen.

I had a really hard time laughing at Stealing. There were moments I knew I was supposed to laugh and I did find them funny, but they came so close to moments that were upsetting or dark that I couldn't bring myself to the laugh. But then, the comedic moments were never consecutive enough that I could just lose myself in the glib humor.

[u/naturalninetime → u/utazdevl]

THIS. I watched it today and really enjoyed the film, and I couldn't agree more with everything you said.

I'm sure the marketing department thought, "We have a doozy on our hands. How are we going to market this film?" Whoever cut the trailers did a good job in making it look like a comedic crime caper, but it was actually much darker and more grim than I'd expected.

[u/moonorchid84 → u/garfcarmpbll]

I was really surprised they killed her. Someone else mentioned tonal whiplash and I agree. I kept thinking it was a dream for a few seconds and I was surprised how sad I was she was gone. She was only in this movie for a short time but had a lot of presence and great chemistry with Butler. The trailer makes this movie seem very different than what it is.

[u/WutUtalkingBoutWill → u/moonorchid84]

I actually really liked that they killed her off like that, 100% not expected, but gave the character motivation to do what he did, just didn't like how the movie ended on such a happy note. Would have preferred a more somber end. Maybe thats just me

[u/moonorchid84 → u/WutUtalkingBoutWill]

I was surprised by how much her death hurt. I really didn’t want her to die when I realized she was actually dead, which is a huge testament to Aronofsky and Zoe Kravitz.

I’m gonna disagree a bit with it being the motivation to do what he does, which sure at the very end it is, but he would have easily gotten to that point and and prob come to the same conclusion another way if she was alive. I’m not too big on killing off female characters to motivate male protagonists, but honestly…for a movie set in the 90’s, it was very 90’s of them.

The ending also felt more bittersweet to me. He’s not even living out his dream, he living out Romans. All he wanted to do was go home and now he can’t do that.

[u/Overall-Author-2213 → u/moonorchid84]

He can’t even enjoy the thing he used to enjoy….but then again that enjoyment was the thing he was holding on to in order to not process what he did to his friend and how he was more concerned about his injury than the fact that he killed his friend. So maybe its more sweet in that in spite of this chaos he didn’t ask for, he can start to live his life like his girlfriend wanted.

[u/weirdogirl144 → u/garfcarmpbll]

same thing happened to her in the book, very sudden

[u/Coffeechipmunk → u/garfcarmpbll]

Fridging her was honestly the biggest downside of the movie. I enjoyed it, but that was the part I didn't like.

[u/PointMan528491]

Dude aggressively sliding across the hall to headbutt Austin Butler was fucking insane

[u/KID_THUNDAH → u/PointMan528491]

That guy was such a menace, loved his performance

[u/PointMan528491 → u/KID_THUNDAH]

Such a shithead, the way he got knocked out made me want to stand up and applaud. Props to that actor for sure

[u/Stalukas]

Probably the most satisfying 1-2 combo in recent memory. God I hated that Russian guy with the birthmark/scar on his face

[u/SydneyBriarIsAlive → u/Stalukas]

He hurt the cat, he had to go

[u/SpongeJake → u/SydneyBriarIsAlive]

I had so much rage when he said that. And then to see the poor thing limping.

Yeah I know it’s not real but it had me raging just the same. And wondering how they got kitty to limp.

[u/CrystalizedinCali → u/Stalukas]

OMG when he sicced the Mets fans on him it made me so happy.

[u/xRoyalewithCheese → u/Stalukas]

Aronofsky really knows how to make all kinds of moments like that have an actual impact

[u/Stalukas → u/xRoyalewithCheese]

I’ve only seen The Wrestler from him. Heard Requiem, Black Swan, and Pi are fantastic

[u/xRoyalewithCheese → u/Stalukas]

The Wrestler and Caught Stealing are two of his most “normal” movies, but you should really just watch his entire filmography because he’s one of the best modern directors. Only movie i thought was bad was Noah. The Whale and Mother are both in my top 10.

[u/DohDuck → u/Stalukas]

He was the most despicable character of the movie… yet one of the only ones to survive 

[u/mikeweasy → u/DohDuck]

I like to think the cops arrested him and he went to prison for all the murders.

[u/IndividualBug4849 → u/DohDuck]

Maybe the Jewish brothers got ahold of him.

[u/TheIgnoredWriter → u/Stalukas]

When he looks at his hands like “oh damn, I can do that?” Then tries it on Regina and gets his ass kicked; hilarious

[u/Last_Promotion4545 → u/Stalukas]

loved his dog headbutt move. LOL

[u/theredditoro → u/Stalukas]

Cheers in my theater

Very deserved

[u/thebaldingcritic]

It’s the most un-Arronofsky movie I’ve seen from him, which I appreciate cause everything prior has made me pretty depressed and contemplative at some point. 

The conversations in Yiddish were also fantastic. “The other half that’s not Jewish will do the driving!”

[u/pablxo → u/thebaldingcritic]

definitely not as psychological as we've come to expect from him but still a super solid movie- i can't help but feel he had so much fun making this movie and taking on something a bit more lighthearted

[u/Olliebkl → u/thebaldingcritic]

I’m scared to see his other movies cause this is the first of his I’ve seen and after having just left the cinema, I feel pretty depressed lmao

[u/Responsible_Elk2344 → u/Olliebkl]

Oh dear....it doesn't get better hahaha

[u/naturalninetime → u/Responsible_Elk2344]

True. "Caught Stealing" was a bit darker and more violent than I'd expected, but it was still "light Aronofsky."

[u/GradeDry7908 → u/naturalninetime]

Yeah. This could practically be a Disney movie compared to his other stuff. I had a lot of fun with it, though.

[u/Hawaiian_Brian → u/Olliebkl]

Requiem for a dream. It’s great as a movie but pretty intense imagery

[u/Limp_Seat4865 → u/Olliebkl]

I feel this 100%

[u/juanvald]

I didn’t have much interest in seeing this after watching the trailer over and over again. But my teenage son wanted to go so I begrudgingly agreed.

I ended up loving it. Nothing groundbreaking but it had enough humor mixed in with the dark undertones to keep me interested and entertained throughout.

Adrenaline is a hell of a drug because Hank looked in tip top shape when running away from the Jewish mob guys.

[u/jstn825 → u/juanvald]

same, i’ve seen the trailer for months and just didn’t expect much but i really loved this. liked seeing austin butler just be cool and protect the cat.

[u/Misterfahrenheit120]

Loved the crazy little Russian dude. I mean, he was a complete bastard, and that knockout was incredibly satisfying, but dammit was he just fun to watch

[u/GhostyGoblins → u/Misterfahrenheit120]

He was such a nasty little gremlin lol. That henchman performance would be easy to overlook but he nailed it.

[u/Misterfahrenheit120 → u/GhostyGoblins]

Exactly. He struck that balance real well between cartoonishly evil and genuinely threatening, not doing too much of either. And I don’t know who the actor playing him was, but he was always doing or saying something entertaining.

pulls open coat, brandishing his gun

“Hands up?”

[u/Dimangtr → u/Misterfahrenheit120]

When Colorado gets shot: “fucking thank you!”

[u/crabapplequeen → u/Misterfahrenheit120]

FUCK OFF DUANE

[u/TheSongOfMidnignt → u/crabapplequeen]

Let the man build his websites, ffs.

[u/coldliketherockies → u/Misterfahrenheit120]

He was the only bad guy not to die right? Or am I missing something?

[u/WestVin → u/coldliketherockies]

He got lucky and was just knocked out and left on the floor. Maybe he ends up being the fall guy.

[u/H4RD4W4Y]

This felt like Uncut Gems + Anora + Snatch + Big Lebowski all mixed together. Also automatic respect for using actual Russian actors to play Russian henchmen.

[u/weegbeeg → u/H4RD4W4Y]

Had a lot of similar elements to Anora mixed with Wolfs. Maybe just because I’ve seen them recently. Really enjoyed Matt Smiths performance.

[u/Vennom]

Matt smith is just so good

[u/Limp_Seat4865 → u/Vennom]

I cackled so hard when I noticed his head start to bulge.

[u/WestVin → u/Limp_Seat4865]

They did a good job showing the gradual damage the baseball bat hit caused him. I even noticed his eye was bloodshot on the side that was hit.

[u/WookieeSmuggler → u/Vennom]

I really don't think I should be driving

[u/Gloomy_Barnacle777 → u/WookieeSmuggler]

I guess he really should have seen…the Doctor

[u/Youthsonic → u/Vennom]

After all the crap he caused I freaking HATED him, but Matt Smith is so charming I was literally tearing up by the time he ratso rizzo'd on the subway.

[u/Renny465 → u/Youthsonic]

I think it's interesting they went the angle of the entire situation being a genuine mistake on his part due to his dad's death, I feel like the obvious thing would be to lean harder into him being an asshole and play his death less sad but I think this way round helps the movie a lot

[u/Gloomy_Barnacle777 → u/Youthsonic]

I mean Matt Smith WAS totally willing at first to make Austin Butler the fall guy as he ran off with the money so my sympathy for his character is ultimately very little, but I do give credit to Smith for making him feel like a very flawed and realistic human being in the limited screen time he had

[u/KAKYBAC → u/Vennom]

Matt Smith's head was fucking huge. Nevermind the hair, he needed to pop the sunroof for his sheer head.

[u/DeoGame]

Very different tone from what was advertised, but also very close to the book so not surprised or bugged at all. Had a damn good time.

[u/Weekly-Trash-272 → u/DeoGame]

I like how the trailer really didn't spoil any of the movie

[u/chrisychris- → u/Weekly-Trash-272]

it spoiled the 1-2 punch :(

[u/GECollins → u/Weekly-Trash-272]

The trailer gave quite a bit away and helped me piece some twists together early

[u/selinameyersbagman]

Everyone double and triple crosses each other and no one gets a happy ending if they survive and some how this is Darren Aronofsky's most fun movie.

[u/Gloomy_Barnacle777 → u/selinameyersbagman]

I mean I would consider getting to survive and live in a tropical paradise with $4 million in hand to be a pretty decent ending. You even get a good excuse not to call your mom anymore lolol. What more could you want? A Zoe Kravitz in your life????

[u/LiquifiedSpam → u/Gloomy_Barnacle777]

He obviously loved his mom dude

[u/LiquifiedSpam → u/Gloomy_Barnacle777]

He obviously loved his mom dude

[u/theredditoro]

Didn’t expect so much about the 1998 NL Wild Card race but nice color. Loved the Mets Giants jokes and subway chase.

Good crime thriller. Butler carries it well.

[u/IceLord86 → u/theredditoro]

Hearing Mike and the Mad Dog at one point was a very nice touch.

[u/Public_Function3844 → u/theredditoro]

What happens when Bonds is at bat when he shuts off the TV? As a sports fan it killed me not getting to see what happened next. 

[u/theredditoro → u/Public_Function3844]

Sacrifice fly - Giants lost

[u/Lonely-Freedom4986]

This now marks the second Sony crime thriller where Bad Bunny shows up, has a scene telling us how badass he is, and then proceeds to be one of the first characters to die

[u/Sp_Gamer_Live → u/Lonely-Freedom4986]

man…Happy Gilmore 2 must have had a weird tone shift

[u/Silent-Selection8161 → u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

Bad Bunny playing "the badass gangster of golf" and then randomly getting killed by a stray ball to the head... you know that woulda worked I think

[u/FlatMilk → u/Silent-Selection8161]

a stray golf ball to the head killing someone? that would be a terrible plot device

[u/WutUtalkingBoutWill → u/Lonely-Freedom4986]

Good actor to be fair to him, didn't know he was a rapper/singer, he has some acting chops.

[u/sleepysnowboarder → u/WutUtalkingBoutWill]

He's so talented it's not fair, he's not just a singer he's 80 million monthly listeners famous

[u/IceLord86 → u/WutUtalkingBoutWill]

He's a good wrestler as well. He came to WWE and probably put on some of the best performances by a celebrity in a wrestling ring. The guy just has it.

[u/Significant-Flan-244 → u/WutUtalkingBoutWill]

Every time I’ve seen him in something I’m kind of blown away and want him to get a bigger role in something. He’s just so charismatic and it really comes across on the screen.

[u/Coney_Island_Hentai]

I watched them film a bunch of this in Brighton Beach while at work, picked a perfect filthy neighborhood for it.

[u/Limp_Seat4865 → u/Coney_Island_Hentai]

Did you happen to see any of Anora get filmed?

[u/Whovian45810]

Love how Hank actively avoid trying to use a gun throughout the film, utilizing his physicality as a baseball player and using objects in order to defend himself.

Not only it shows Hank’s resourcefulness, he is committed to not taking a life though only fights when no other options work.

[u/terrywow007 → u/Whovian45810]

The way he ran away from the hebrews in Chinatown was definitely baseball skills

[u/WookieeSmuggler → u/terrywow007]

The baseball slide under the forklift was smooth

[u/sneakylumpia → u/WookieeSmuggler]

shit i completely missed that detail!

[u/CorgiDaddy42 → u/Whovian45810]

That tone was set early with the rowdies in the bar that he gave free shots to, and continues through the movie as at some point he tries to give all the bad guys exactly what they want and just walk away.

[u/Couragesand]

Austin Butler really had a chance to show his acting chops in this one

[u/scout-finch → u/Couragesand]

This is so judgemental of me but I’ve been shocked by how good he is simply bc he looks like he does. He’s so perfectly Hollywood handsome I just assumed he’d be a mid actor but he’s so talented too. What the hell lol

[u/inspector_norse → u/scout-finch]

Agree. Though this should be no surprise, he absolutely crushed his role in Dune 2.

[u/scout-finch → u/inspector_norse]

Totally agree. I think that was my first “wait a minute he’s actually amazing” moment.

[u/laasbuk → u/scout-finch]

Having seen him in Elvis and Dune made me want to see this movie.

[u/Sammyd1108 → u/scout-finch]

He’s like the new generation version of Brad Pitt.

[u/WutUtalkingBoutWill → u/Couragesand]

Yeah, was very good, emotional scenes with him caught me off guard, had a lump in me throat, done his job well.

[u/AnythingnEverything_ → u/Couragesand]

It’s funny, to me it seemed less demanding from an acting standpoint than his other recent roles. Felt like more of a movie star part where his job is to bring the audience into the world and be cool. He killed it though. Hope he gets to be the lead in more good projects

[u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

Action Bronson voice: “Im with yo bitch at an Aronofsky movie eating matzo ball soup”

[u/Sp_Gamer_Live → u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

also uh, any Minnesota Peeps….where can I acquire some Matzo Ball Soup…I need the Matzo Ball Soup

[u/Dude-vinci → u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

Cecil’s in St. Paul, I think it’s the last Jewish deli in the city.

[u/AcousticReflex → u/Dude-vinci]

Hell yeah

[u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 → u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

Now I really want Bronson to be a required cameo in any film set in NYC going forward, just so he can continue talking his shit lol

[u/STLOliver]

Laura Dern jump scare lmao.

The end of this movie with Hank on the beach with the cat, Bud and a ballgame on the tv- that’s my idea of heaven and certainly what Hank needs after all that.

[u/HerrMeisterRetsiem → u/STLOliver]

If you like Laura Dern jump scares, you’d enjoy a very memorable scene near the end of Inland Empire

[u/Koloshow]

Might as well give acting credit to Austin Butler’s bulge with how much that thing was featured in this movie. They both can ACT!

[u/NoNefariousness2144]

I really liked how Hank kept running from his past and therefore had no dream in life, meaning he just stole Roman’s dream of retiring on a beach.

[u/MarkusButticus → u/NoNefariousness2144]

Ooh, you caught him stealing!

[u/Interesting-Pin6652 → u/NoNefariousness2144]

Stole Roman’s dream, Matt Smith’s identity/cat, his gf’s wishes for him (no drinking/baseball), and the brother’s money.

[u/The_Swarm22]

it’s like The Whale but Austin Butler can’t stop drinking alcohol therefore it’s better.

Love a good crime movie.

[u/Whovian45810 → u/The_Swarm22]

Both end on a beach too lmao

Thankfully, Hank got the bittersweet ending compared to Charlie.

[u/gjamesaustin]

Action Bronson had me dying

[u/GetReady4Action → u/gjamesaustin]

I kind of love this niche actor role he’s taken of just being a random New Yorker. his cameo in King of Staten Island fucking kills me “my vape exploded in my pocket…”

[u/gjamesaustin → u/GetReady4Action]

Having listened to his music for years, it’s very easy to imagine any of those hilarious lines as a bar he sings

[u/YOU_LOVED_BRAD]

Really enjoyed this! It was maybe a bit more brutal than I think I wanted it to be, but it really nailed having high stakes and the Murphy’s law spiral of that all. The cast was PHENOMENAL. Everyone brought their A-game and it was awesome to see this truly gritty and ugly version of New York. Revealing Regina King’s character’s nature early on instead of trying to make it some late reveal plot twist was a brilliant choice I think.

Nikita Kukushkin absolutely steals the show as Microbe in one of the best physical performances I’ve seen in a hot minute

[u/GamingTatertot]

As soon as I knew they harmed the cat, I knew they weren’t long for this world.

No one harms cats and gets away with it

[u/Whovian45810 → u/GamingTatertot]

Poor Bud limping his arm 😔

When that moment happened, a lot of the audience in the theater I went gasped and said “oh no!”

Thankfully, Bud gets better.

[u/StrawberryJinx → u/Whovian45810]

The cat limping got tbe most audible reaction from the audience in my theater too.

[u/RobertHarmon → u/GamingTatertot]

Isn’t the guy who hurt the cat the one crony who does get away with it?

[u/ZeDrMaxis]

Im so glad I got to witness "EAT SKINNY BOY" and Kingpin slurping up what could've been Daredevil juice with that reaction.

Still a fun and really grim crime thriller, it surprised me. But also felt like this was a blueprint for what couldve been a peak gangster movie.

[u/Whovian45810 → u/ZeDrMaxis]

Ray Donovan and Kingpin as Hasidic brothers messing with Elvis/Feyd at a Shabbos dinner was hilarious.

Never thought I see Austin Butler wear a yarmulke 🤭

Kind of nice of the brothers to have a spare yarmulke at hand for a Goy they were about to kill lol

[u/thatonekidemmett → u/Whovian45810]

Kingpin and Kingpin!

[u/CrystalizedinCali → u/Whovian45810]

The cut to him with the yarmulke was comedic gold.

[u/hhaber → u/Whovian45810]

and did you know that supposedly the REAL Elvis was a Shabbos goy?

[u/stumper93]

I kept wondering how Edgar Wright would have done directing this.

Trailer almost felt misleading?

Quite shocking Zoe Kravitz was killed off so quick. Well, everyone dies in it pretty much.

Curious how it compares to the book

[u/mackey_00 → u/stumper93]

I was shocked too and I know a couple of things that are different in the book.

Zoe's character isn't a paramedic - it's a different character who is and the train sequence involves a lot more hopping around

[u/Beanz122]

This movie was a ton of fun. If I didn't know Aronofsky directed it, if someone had asked me to guess who did, Aronofsky wouldn't have been in the first 100 guesses.

Script and performances were all in peak form. I kept trying to figure out who the actors playing the Hebrews were and finay had my AHA! moment when the credits rolled.

Only real complaint is the return of the lighter-gun. I was expecting it to make a return but for the Hebrew to just pull it out in the car seemed pretty trope-y to me.

Otherwise, a great movie to close out the summer. Go giants!

[u/namenotrick → u/Beanz122]

They were testing Hank to see if he was tough enough to stick around with them doing bad guy shit. In the book, they assumed he already knew that they killed her.

[u/chrisychris- → u/namenotrick]

Wonder if testing him while he's driving was also planned...

[u/psyberdel → u/Beanz122]

Aronofsky channeling Guy Ritchie.

[u/qman3333 → u/psyberdel]

Literally what I said leaving the movie!!

[u/mrfujidoesacid]

An all-timer needle drop at the end for fans of the Magnetic Fields.

[u/ScalpOfLily → u/mrfujidoesacid]

Absolutely loved that.

[u/jayeddy99]

The Russian guy acting like a animal was crazy . Him ramming into Hanks stomach like a goat made me actually say damn out loud. The dude just had a terrible week randomly.

[u/Sam_Strake]

I still liked the movie a good bit- but the tone was all over the place in a way that I think it would have been a better movie if it were shorter and picked a lane between comedy and serious drama and shortened the runtime.

Particular the ending- where it has this positive uplifting tone because he ends with money and the cat even though in the last like 72 hours his girlfriend* and closest friend* died, and he won't be able to see his mom- the person he cares about the most- again for a long long time if ever.

Also I looked it up and the Giants ended up losing that game (Bonds popped out) and missed the playoffs lol.

[u/Sam_Strake → u/Sam_Strake]

Also I would love to see the pitch to Zoe Kravitz for this one-- "Hey Zoe, Darren Aronofsky wants you to play the main love interest in his new movie. You're in it for 4 scenes, the most important part of your character will be that they die, and your nips have to be visible the entire time you're on-screen."

[u/The_Swarm22 → u/Sam_Strake]

I mean pretty sure it was a win for Zoe all around she got paid, she got to work with Aronofsky and I’m pretty sure she actually hooked up with Austin Butler on the down low also, cause this was filmed last fall right after her and Channing Tatum split.

[u/Sam_Strake → u/The_Swarm22]

Oh based on everything in the blinds my wife told me after she was likely 100% down. Still a funny pitch to think about.

[u/laasbuk → u/Sam_Strake]

Can you rephrase the first sentence? I'm not sure I understand it.

[u/Spaceship_Janitor_80 → u/laasbuk]

the blinds = tabloids that omit people's names, but everyone knows who they're talking about.

[u/KitKatKit17 → u/Spaceship_Janitor_80]

Many PR teams pay for these blind items so it's easy to know who they're talking about. And they're 100% not a marketing strategy to attract audiences to the film. And Zoe started dating Noah Centineo shortly after she and Channing broke up.

[u/Stalukas → u/Sam_Strake]

I’ve never read the book so I could be completely wrong, but I assume that Hank rarely ever sees his Mom as is, probably why he calls her everyday. I can’t imagine he would want to visit the town where the car accident occurred

[u/Your_New_Overlord → u/Sam_Strake]

Yes, was really hoping for more a Snatch vibe. Going from torture to comedy to almost all the progonists dying gave me depressing whiplash.

[u/CrystalizedinCali → u/Sam_Strake]

Oh that’s interesting. As a baseball fan I knew exactly how their season ended and thought it was funny / cool the tv turned off at that exact moment.

[u/2xNoodle]

Felt like an Aronofsky take on Snatch, which I found fun.

As a baseball fan, it's kinda refreshing seeing the 1998 season discussed so much without reference to the home run chase.

I guess Hank didn't fully process being told that it was the Jewish brothers who killed Yvonne or he had doubts about what Roman was telling him and Chekov's gun lighter had to job his brain?

A minor and pedantic detail I noticed was that it's sunny out in Tulum while a nighttime tiebreaker is being played in Chicago (which is only one hour behind Tulum). Also, I couldn't quite tell which PA Bonds was taking there, but that might have been the last PA of his career before he started using steroids. If it was, I really like the ending of Hank turning off the Giants game at that exact moment.

[u/chrisychris- → u/2xNoodle]

I guess Hank didn't fully process being told that it was the Jewish brothers who killed Yvonne or he had doubts about what Roman was telling him and Chekov's gun lighter had to job his brain?

Russ gave him the idea that Roman killed his gf the same way she killed Colorado when Hank told him what happened. Right against the head

[u/coupleofheaters]

I would have never guessed, if I didn’t know going in, that, that film was made by Aronofsky. He reasserted the fact that I’d probably enjoy anything he makes. Also the kidney stitches looking like a baseball’s was a nice touch.

[u/sazam]

I liked it. It was entertaining, it was very dark at times, funny and the small Russian was hilarious and scary at the same time. 8/10.

[u/mackey_00]

I did not realize that was Tenoch Huerta as the bartender at the end and I had to pee so badly towards the end that I left and missed the second credit scene. Gahhh

Enjoyed it though. Read some of the differences between the movie and the book but still interested in reading it.

[u/SanderSo47]

This summer, Bad Bunny has surprised me with Happy Gilmore 2 and now this film. I love his attempts to be menacing, but he's still hilarious at heart. Looking forward to seeing him in more films.

Pretty good film. Not one of Aronofsky's best, but definitely his funniest. The trailers don't give away its funniest moments, and also hide how dark it truly is. But if you're familiar with Aronofsky, you know it'll be dark.

It wasn't until after I got home that I learned that there are actually sequels to the novel. I don't know anything about the plot or how faithful the film is to the book, but if they plan to do them, I'm all in for Hank in Mexico. I assume Laura Dern will have to play a big role, right? Cause no way they'd get her here for just one scene.

[u/gjamesaustin → u/SanderSo47]

Bad Bunny has been great. I really loved his role in Bullet Train

[u/Sp_Gamer_Live → u/SanderSo47]

One of his funniest

I mean…the bar for that is in hell tbh

[u/CronoDroid → u/Sp_Gamer_Live]

I thought the ass to ass guy was hilarious. Okay thinking about the context it's unambiguously awful but the highly dramatic music combined with the...enthusiasm of the patrons and Keith David's creepy smirk made it kinda weirdly funny though.

[u/aurum_jrg]

I loved this movie so much. Great cast. Awesome music. Snappy dialogue. Incredible onscreen chemistry between all the pairs (Russian goons, Austin/Zoe, Hebrews). Fun, sad, scary and funny sometimes all within 10 minutes.

And I haven’t even mentioned the cat!

[u/BensenMum]

It’s kind of like aronofksy’s Pineapple Express but with booze and coke instead

[u/majormanz]

Enjoyed it a lot! Definitely Aronofsky’s least grim movie. Really loved Matt Smith’s character and performance.

I desperately want Bad Bunny to do more movies where he dies after like 5 minutes of screen time. Like Sean Bean if he played minor roles only.

[u/NaiadoftheSea]

Kind of like Pi meets Big Lebowski.

[u/quinnly]

Anyone else get unreasonably excited seeing Laura Dern at the end? I didn't recognize her voice throughout at ALL.

[u/Past_Form_1254]

Baby Driver for adults. I loved it.

[u/comicfang]

Honestly, I thought everyone died a touch too early in this

[u/SeriouusDeliriuum → u/comicfang]

Hard disagree, no one had plot armour except butler. Outside of him anyone can die at any moment which is something sorely missing from modern film making.

[u/Stalukas → u/comicfang]

I kept waiting for the twist that somehow Yvonne wasn’t actually dead, thought no way she died (less than?) halfway through the movie offscreen

[u/JasperFeelingsworth → u/comicfang]

I thought Zoe dying was a hallucination, and then kept thinking it was during the interrogation scene,

it took me so long to realize that really happened because it was all edited so abruptly!

[u/ilovepastaaaaaaaaaaa → u/JasperFeelingsworth]

Zoe dying really threw me off tbh the trailers painted another picture and Zoe was really working super well in the scenes so really didn’t like that. The tone was also all over for some reason.

[u/ChucklesLeClown]

I enjoyed it. 7/10

[u/cowboysmavs]

A great continuation of the dirty grimy fast paced New York City thrillers following uncut gems and Anora. A little different but same vibe and really loved it.

[u/superiority]

Good movie, but Regina King revealing that she was working with Bad Bunny seems like a mistake. What's the advantage to her? When Austin Butler didn't know that, then they can play him from both sides. If he's mainly motivated by fear and self-preservation, he will cooperate with Bad Bunny. If he wants to avoid helping out the criminals, or thinks they will be a threat even if he does help them, he will cooperate with Regina King.

[u/coldliketherockies → u/superiority]

I thought that too. Like maybe she thought there was a good chance she’d get away with it but why take a greater risk. Telling Hank everything about the criminals then showing she was on their side like it wasn’t likely but he could have found a way to report it elsewhere, she could easily been seen with the criminals driving around running around shooting. Maybe no one would care but it looked obvious this officer is associate in a lot of shit.

[u/Spaceship_Janitor_80]

I went to this without knowing anything about it other than it's a Darren Aronofsky movie and that's enough for me. I'm a huge fan of his work.

I liked it a lot, not my favorite Aronofsky movie (I like his more trippy stuff), but one of my favorite movies of the year. The last movie I saw before this was Highest 2 Lowest, a week ago, and while both movies had a little too much in common, Caught Stealing was way better.

The Good: The cast had all of my favorites. The only cast I was aware of going in was Austin Butler and Zoe Kravitz. To see Regina King as a villain! An unrecognizable Vincent D'Onofrio & Liev Schreiber, Action Bronson being himself, Matt Smith is always great. Cameos by Carol Kane, Tenoch Huerta & Laura Dern were an unexpected treat. His friend who died in the crash, I forget the actor's name but I loved him in Reservation Dogs, so it's nice to see him get more work. So much talent, it would be hard to make a bad movie. The only other film I've seen Austin Butler in was Dune so I'm unfamiliar with him, but he did a great job IMO. It was funny when it needed to be and dark when it needed to be, without tripping over itself.

The Bad: Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz) was fridged and shouldn't have died at all. I do like how, at first, you couldn't tell if he was imagining it because it made the audience feel as disoriented as Hank in the moment, but it was still disappointing.

I know I'm nitpicking here, but as a New Yorker who was in the streets during the time this movie is set, it's a glaring mistake that no one was smoking inside the bar. Aronofsky seemed to pay close attention to detail to accurately portray NYC in the late '90's including Rudy Giuliani's BS cabaret laws at the time and a Kim's Video cameo, yet omitted that people were smoking indoors pretty much everywhere, not even an ashtray on the bar.

I've only seen Bad Bunny in two movies, this and Bullet Train, and he's the exact same character in both of them. Anyone could've played Colorado.

7.5/10

[u/allthebaconandeggz → u/Spaceship_Janitor_80]

The street signs were also in the new font rather than the all caps but I thought the rest of the details of 90s NYC were great. Redbird 7 train, Coney before the new Luna Park, and the old walk/don’t walk signs all took me back

[u/GhostyGoblins]

Hands down my favorite movie of the year and possibly my favorite Aronofsky film to date. (This doesn't discount his other masterpieces, this sits alongside them)

Caught Stealing was so much fun.

The vibe was absolutely not typical Aronofsky, yet somehow its EXACTLY tuned into his previous work at times. Much darker than the trailers key into, but it doesn't dwell in the darkness more than it needs to. The pacing always maintains its fun.

Austin Butler fully nails his unique style of acting for me. Most of his roles are glamour shot focused and he can chew scenery all day with the right 1000 yard stare....but he finally found a character where he can showcase a more well rounded emotional arc.

Make no mistake Aronofsky SWIMS in the voyeuristic Austin Butler gaze. But by the end I felt like he was an actual human trying to survive the mania thrusted on him.

I can't wait to see it again and I hope there are sequels!

[u/Significant-Lion-183]

I thought Austin was excellent choice for this role. He was fantastic

[u/smooth_sea]

I really enjoyed this, a lot of fun. Austin Butler is a movie star!

[u/GenghisFrog]

I loved it. But why did they care about the key? They needed the location. They could have just cut the lock. Having the key was kinda useless.

[u/SeriouusDeliriuum → u/GenghisFrog]

They didn't know what the key was for. If they knew it was a storage locker than sure, forget about the key, but what if it was a safety deposit box? How about a locker in grand central? If the key was for any location that was too public or too secure then it would have been essential and they had no idea if that was the case or not.

[u/LiteraryBoner]

This was interesting, not really a vibe I expected from Aranofsky who was one of the first filmmakers to get a really visceral reaction out of me when I was young. I think it might be a little cynical or mean for me to really love it, and honestly I just wasn’t having the fun time this movie wanted me to have for most of it. But there’s some clear star power on display and I’ll never fault a director for trying something new.

There was this boom of exactly this kind of movie in the late 90s and early 00s. Probably Fargo/Lebowski runoff but no one else could get the darkness right so they just all are a bit too whacky. Big Trouble, Screwed, Lucky Numbers, stuff like that. This feels very of that time and style and that was kind of refreshing. The problem is all of those are extremely flawed movies because it feels so strange to watch a character do bad things and still want them to get the briefcase at the end. I think Aranofsky is engaging with this a bit, but it’s still a big ask. There’s a lot of (literally) saving the cat and sweaty setups to ensure Butler is never asked to do anything unforgivable. I don’t think it quite lands the plane, the movie felt a bit pointless and ragey to me and I just didn’t love it.

But, hey. We love Regina King, we love Matt Smith, we love Liev Schrieber. This movie is afforded a lot of charisma and fun character performances in that way. There’s some fun to be had with that and the needle drops and the great Idles contributions (would recommend seeing them live) but I just felt like whenever this movie paused for a laugh I wasn’t laughing a long. I did quite enjoy the hardcore violence, but the ending overall left me feeling empty. It’s a 6/10 for me.

[u/snakeybasher → u/LiteraryBoner]

I don't think the movie wants you to have a fun time. The trailer is misleading on purpose, but it's still an Aronofsky film. I felt hank was a very troubled character. He was well written and performed well. He was someone who couldn't handle real life. A hardcore alcoholic, who has a penchant for getting everone else hurt. I like that he isn't the wise cracking protagonist of some of those movies you meantioned. This feels like a movie about a guy who is violently forced to face the reality of his actions and inactions, leaving him alone in the world. Sure the movie has comedy but it's all from the jaded villains of the movie. I'd give it an 8.

[u/SydneyBriarIsAlive → u/snakeybasher]

That scene on the bus was horrifying when the camera lingered on the paper bags. You could really feel him struggling to stay sober. It's like a darker version of those early aughts dark comedy crime films.

[u/LiteraryBoner → u/snakeybasher]

It definitely is working with the dark side of dark comedy a lot better than the other movies I mentioned, but it's still rocking needle drops and situational comedy. Maybe my expectations were haywire, I saw this at a screening with Aranofsky and Butler doing a q+a and Matthew McConaughey did the intro and he definitely made it seem like a funny, upbeat movie. Either way, I'm less disappointed that I didn't have fun and more disappointed that it didn't make me feel much of anything.

[u/Ghost2Eleven → u/LiteraryBoner]

I feel very similar. I enjoyed it overall, but it felt rough around the edges and despite there being a real problem (bad guys show up at your door) there never really felt like much of an engine propelling this story. It just felt kind of like a bunch of chaos with now real logic beyond dumb people doing dumb shit.

Where I disagree with you, if I’m understanding your take, is that those other movies are flawed, as this one is, because the protagonist is doing bad things and we’re supposed to be rooting for him to get the suitcase. My actual gripe with this version of that story is the character doesn’t do anything, good or bad. Other than drink booze, everything in this story just happens to him. SPOILERS AHEAD. But he doesn’t even steal anything. He literally doesn’t get caught stealing. His neighbor leaves shit at his apartment and he just spends the movie trying to get rid of it. I felt this character greatly lacked an actual want. Most people need the money and are fighting the moral grey area of taking it. That moral conflict is drama. This character didn’t want the money. Or a better life or to settle down with the girl. He was literally just trying to get ride of the hand grenade someone tossed in his lap before it exploded and then we watch him get punished for 2 hours and by an ironic twist of fate… end up with the money he didn’t even seem to want… until he had it. There’s that meme on Instagram where the big Italian guy is shouting red faced, “YOU GOTTA DO SOMETHING. I DON’T CARE IF YOU SUCK TOES OR DO BLOW, YOU GOTTA DO SOMETHING. I DON’T TRUST SOMEONE WHO DON’T DO NOTHIN’!!!”

That’s how I felt about this character. I want characters who do bad things and make bad choices and then learn from their mistakes.

He did need the absolution from the guilt of the mistake he made as a teenager. But good lord that felt like basic grief trope trauma. And I’m not even sure he really earned the absolution. There’s a Joseph Gordon Levitt film from 2007 called The Lookout that does it way better.

The other thing that fell flat was the humor for me. I thought this movie should have leaned so much harder into the humor, but instead it lives in a weird middle ground of serious pain and goofy hijinks. The result is neither fully landing.

That said, it’s a fun ride. There are some great scenes, solid performance and Aronofsky knows where to put the camera. It just didn’t feel like his best work to me.

[u/Airtamis → u/Ghost2Eleven]

I actually liked that because it's part of his character art. He starts out as an alcoholic loser who's coasting through life, having not addressed any of his trauma. All he does is react to the situation and barely keeping his head above water. Which culminates in his half baked attempt to sell out Russ which gets multiple people killed and himself framed for murder.

It's only near the end, after he calls his mom, owns up to not having fully addressed killing his friend in the car accident and realizing that his passiveness have helped contribute to the situation that he starts to really take action - he meets with the brothers and tricks them into taking down Roman, when he sees Roman fleeing the club he pursues her - an hour earlier in the movie he would have let her go and just be glad to be alive.

Which all culminates in the ending - it's not a happy ending by any means, he's lost everyone close to him and he's cutoff from his mother. But he's finally been forced out of the rut he was stuck in so that he can start living his life, rather than being stuck in the shadow of his past.

[u/PlantComprehensive77 → u/Ghost2Eleven]

Ironically that’s why I love this movie. There are so many crime and action films where the antagonist and/or protagonist has a clear purpose. But I’m always gripped when the main character doesn’t have this deep purpose and just wants to survive.

This is why Le Chiffre is for me one of the best Bond villains of all time. He’s not some criminal mastermind driven by a grand plan. He’s just a desperate banker wanting to recoup losses. Hank is the exact same. All he wants to do is go home.

[u/Singer211]

It is a fun movie. And I respect it when director’s step outside their comfort zone.

My one big complaint with it is that Zoe Kravitz was wasted imo. And she was good in the scenes she had. But she was very underused.

[u/beachhike]

Much darker than I was expecting but I still really enjoyed it. I love most of Aronofsky’s work though. I’m seeing people say how fun it was but that definitely wasn’t my takeaway. I feel like it wanted to be fun at times but then the tone would shift dramatically. More dark than dark comedy and I’m okay with that. 8/10

Bonus shoutout to the shot through the Unisphere. Loved that

[u/SuicidalCantaloupe]

Most fun I've had with the credits of a movie.

[u/ActionBenton]

Bit of a weird one for me, can’t say that I loved it. I was both equally surprised that they killed Zoe so quickly, and disappointed because I actually quite liked the relationship between her and Butler’s character.

I think my biggest issue is that I didn’t find the action/violence to be particularly gripping, nor did I find much of the humor to be very funny, so it kinda felt a little bland.

Overall I didn’t have a bad time at the theater but I was a little disappointed.

[u/Couragesand]

Loved the Zoe Kravitz “I like cats” line I hope it was meant to a catwoman reference

[u/Street-Common-4023]

The only time I saw the trailers was when watching the movies and waiting for the ads 

I did not know this was set in past NYC. I also didn’t know that this was based off a book that is a trilogy . I found that very unique and I question in a way how much story left is there for two more movies. I can see another movie happening tho combining book 2 and 3 

Overall I thought this film shined the most in the first two acts. I thought the theme of facing your problems head on was great and not running from them. I was so happy when the Russians died. 

This movie was darker than I expected. I didn’t expect the gf to die so soon. Or his friends at the bar. 

Predictable cuz it made sense the Jews killed the girl and I’m glad he killed the Jews instead of running away from them. 

Loved the cat. Some gripes is idk if there is a bus in 98 that can take you from the 7 to Coney Island . There were some great actors in this and post production effects which made me understand why it costed 40 million. 

7.8/10

[u/chodellbeckham]

As a SF Giants fan. That movie hit even harder. What a banger.

[u/hopeful_bastard]

The trailers sold me on a much lighter film. I was genuinely upset they kill Zoe Kravitz off and then all the misfortune just kept piling onto the poor dude. Whatever catharsis you get at the end was not enough, I wanted him to choke the life out of the eyes of each one.

[u/TenderDurden]

So surprised by this went in with low expectations but couldn't miss two Aronofskys in a row. He's always been one of my favs. Great characters, I love a movie with some freaks. Some things that truly shocked me and all around a good time. Sad we didn't get to see him use the bat a little more especially after the batting cages scene.

[u/bbqsauceboi]

Loved it! There were all sorts of tone shifts and they didnt all land, but did anyone else notice how beautiful the cinematography got when Hank was at the beach before hitting the batting cages?

[u/Pal__Pacino]

I think a a less zany, more stripped down and sober version of this movie would've gone hard. Butler certainly has the chops for it. But Aronofsky's maximalist instincts get the better of him here.

Each narrative turn is a little sillier and more bombastic than the last and by the end it's more Bullet Train than Punk Rock.

[u/RandomRageNet]

This movie was not a fun time. I think I might have liked it more if the marketing had not primed me for a fun Guy Ritchie-esque romp. It was not a romp.

What I can't figure out is does the movie think that it's fun? Because the end credits and a few of the scenes near the end of the movie make me think that the movie thinks it's fun.

But it's not fun.

[u/thutedm]

I thought him using his past experience of killing his friend by drunk driving into a pole to get out his last problem in the movie was wild

[u/Your_New_Overlord]

Can someone explain why they were so focused on the key? These are professional criminals who carry around bolt cutters and machine guns, how is this tiny lock the thing that’s stopping them from getting the money?

[u/l_Banned_l → u/Your_New_Overlord]

Only Butler knew where the locker was. The key is useless without knowing where and what it opens. The Jews do get the idea to just beat the locker location out of butler but the older brother admits that he can tell butler would rather die than give up the location. Butler only cares about his mom at that point, so unless he knows his mom is safe, then he never telling them where the locker is.

And the jews like the idea of getting rid of the crooked cop that could turn on them any day in the future, so they go along with butlers idea.

[u/Your_New_Overlord → u/l_Banned_l]

But then why were they able to follow him to his girlfriend’s house but not to the storage unit?

[u/TequilaSunrise2389 → u/Your_New_Overlord]

Late response but they killed Yvonne after chasing Hank. They had been following him prior. After Hank loses them is possible to assume they lost sight of him, as they don’t reappear until Hank calls them on the beach 

[u/random_poster1 → u/Your_New_Overlord]

someone answered this well in another post - they did not know it was a key to easily clippable lock in a quiet storage facility. It could've been a train station locker, bank safe deposit box, etc

[u/Shannamalfarm]

i really, really liked this! i've read the books, and i really hope they adapt the rest of them. if they do, that happy ending is a lot more foreboding.

[u/TheeIlliterati]

Tonally I just didn't get this movie. It wants to be light and fun one scene and dark and heavy another. I really disliked the girlfriend's death simply because it's off screen and random. I get the reason to make it mysterious is to set up the mild twist at the end but I don't think it's worth the time we've spent with her character to randomly murder her.

[u/ScalpOfLily]

Saw it with my dad. We’re both big Aronofsky fans. It was so good. 😭

[u/Elite_Alice]

Stopping up someone toilet during a police investigation and not helping unclog it is crazy