I’ve always found it fascinating when an infamously eccentric filmmaker attempts to make a “one for them” movie—something more mainstream and digestible—and still ends up hitting it straight up the middle. More often than not, these films inadvertently reveal just as much of the filmmaker’s personality and quirks as their more audacious work. Sometimes this is for the better, sometimes for the worse. Take John Carpenter’s Starman, for instance—a warm, crowd-pleasing sci-fi romance made right after The Thing was panned both critically and financially. Or Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, where he tried so hard to make a “normal” superhero film after the commercial failure of Sucker Punch that he stripped out nearly all of his trademark slow-motion shots. Even Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining—a studio-backed horror project aimed at the masses after Barry Lyndon underperformed—still ended up bearing his icy fingerprints at every turn.

In each case, what was supposed to be standard fare instead became deeply personal, filled with idiosyncratic choices and unexpected flourishes that made the films more compelling than their original intent. Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing feels like it could be exactly that kind of film.

TOP FIVE THINGS ABOUT “CAUGHT STEALING”

5. Aronofsky’s Direction

Having recently revisited and reviewed Darren Aronofsky’s seminal Black Swan, I was especially eager to check out his latest work. Once one of the most provocative and daring filmmakers of his era, his output in recent years has felt less vital. So when I heard he was tackling a seemingly out-of-character, ‘90s-set action-thriller, my curiosity was piqued. I went in with an open mind.

At the very least, what Aronofsky achieves here with long-time cinematographer Matthew Libatique is concentrated and surprisingly lyrical. The camera feels unusually controlled for Aronofsky, almost omniscient in its movements, capturing chaos with a steady hand that paradoxically heightens the disorder within the frame. The result is a film that is not only fantastically lit and staged, but also formally intriguing in ways that suggest Aronofsky is still evolving as a visual stylist.

One of the strongest choices comes in how he externalizes his protagonist’s state of mind. The constantly pushing-and-pulling movement of the camera mirrors Butler’s character’s drunken instability, drawing the viewer into his haze. It’s a tactile, disorienting effect that makes the audience feel as off-balance as the character himself—a clever, immersive decision that reminds me why Aronofsky was once considered a master of visual storytelling.

4. Live Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio Are Amazing

Schreiber and D’Onofrio may be used sparingly throughout the film, but in a cast stacked with grade-A talent, they manage to steal the show. Every moment they’re on screen, they’re funny, menacing, and completely magnetic. Honestly, it left me wishing they had been given more screen time—but even in limited doses, their performances are standout highlights.

3. The Music is Both Good and Bad

The score for Caught Stealing was written and composed by Rob Simonsen and recorded by the band Idles. On paper, it’s an exciting collaboration, but in practice, the music feels disjointed and painfully mismatched to the film. As a standalone body of work, the score is energetic and entertaining—Idles’ raw power comes through loud and clear. But as a living part of the film? It’s blunt, on-the-nose, and almost oblivious to what the story actually needs.

The biggest offender is the percussion-heavy approach. It’s applied with such rudimentary logic that it becomes distracting: when a chase starts, the drums kick in; when the chase pauses, the drums cut out—only to return the second the running resumes. This kind of simple musical cue might work once, but deployed repeatedly, it borders on parody. For a film as strange and tonally unique as Caught Stealing, the score needed to bend and flex with the oddities of the story. Instead, what we get is a collection of well-recorded music that feels constantly at odds with the film it’s supposed to serve.

2. What is the Tone?

Which brings me to the biggest problem I had with the film: what the fuck is the tone here? On one hand, Charlie Huston’s screenplay—and the film’s marketing—sell Caught Stealing as a fast-paced, throwback, white-knuckle action-thriller. On the other hand, there’s a heavy, almost suffocating layer of nihilism and mournfulness running through it. Characters meet grisly ends, lingered on with tragic sincerity, as if the film wants us to sit with the weight of every loss. The result is a movie that keeps trying to settle into a propulsive groove but slams on the brakes every fifteen minutes to wrestle with something grim and existential.

It’s easy to imagine a version of this film that leans fully into the surreal energy of Martin Scorsese’s After Hours—a film that feels like an obvious touchstone, especially given Aronofsky cast its star in a side role. But where After Hours is cohesive in its subversive descent into New York’s nocturnal madness, Caught Stealing never quite picks a lane. It seems torn between playing to the gonzo midnight crowd and the casual Sunday-afternoon Netflix viewer. Instead of fusing those modes into something bold, it feels stuck between them, unsure of what it actually wants to be.

1. Austin Butler Sells It

The entire cast delivers strong work, from Regina King to Zoë Kravitz to Matt Smith and beyond. That said, many of the supporting characters don’t get enough screentime to leave more than an initial impression. Instead, the film anchors itself almost entirely on Austin Butler’s protagonist, relying on him to carry the weight of a sprawling character arc—and he does so with remarkable skill.

There are certainly moments where the story telegraphs Butler’s character beats a bit too obviously, making some arc developments feel on-the-nose. Yet, Butler navigates even the most glaring instances with poise, articulation, and depth.

I’ve never considered myself a massive fan of Butler, but this may be among his very best performances. His work here is multi-faceted and layered, showcasing a versatility that commands attention and effectively anchors the film. Without his presence, the movie might have struggled to engage, but Butler’s performance transforms it into something compelling.

RGM GRADE

(C+)

By attempting to play things so straight and conventional, Aronofsky inadvertently exposes a lot about his priorities as both a storyteller and a filmmaker. That makes Caught Stealing a deeply intriguing watch, even if it frequently feels dissonant. In many ways, the film leans more toward Man of Steel than Starman or The Shining—for better or worse—revealing how Aronofsky balances ambition, style, and narrative in unexpected ways.

Will Jones