Caught Stealing - Harry’s Review - 7.5/10
Caught Stealing, if you watched the trailers, might seem like an odd movie for such a polarizing director in the form of Darren Aronofsky. It paints it as a zany, hectic; “man in a situation through no fault of his own” kind of film. However, having now watched it, it is clear this, is true, but there is more Darren Aronofsky in here than meets the eye.
The film centre’s on Austin Butler’s character, Hank, who finds himself caught between warring drug gangs in New York, in the 90’s, after agreeing to look after his neighbours cat (it gets weirder). Hank has his own personal demons to contend with and while I won’t spoil the film here, this ties in well with the films robust death count. There was one character who bit the dust a bit early for my liking, as felt they existed to further develop Hank’s character.
It’s worth getting out the way, this is still not what I’ve come to expect from a Darren Aronofsky film, as the film actually had humour for one. Laughing at any of his previous works, probably says something dark about you as a person, as they are not humorous affairs, in the slightest. There are themes weaved through this of self-guilt, alcoholism and mental health, so not completely out of his comfort zone.
Overall, not his best, but far from his worst, an enjoyable, off kilter romp around 90’s New York (with an appropriately 90’s soundtrack to boot) with humour, heart and plenty of (dark) humour. Worth a watch alone just for Matt’s Smiths performance as Russ, who is a post-punk, comically British, anarchist, who generated the most laughs in the screening I attended.
Harry - 7.5/10
What Harry lacks in writing credentials, he makes up for in passion for the subject at hand. The MultiMediaVerse venture isn’t something that sustains us with life’s needs and serves more as a passion project (currently) for us, so if our various contents feels a little rough and ready, that’s because they are! Any feedback is always welcome and we hope you enjoy reading our articles.
