Butler, cast fight to find humor in Caught Stealing
If there was ever a “Your Mileage May Vary” movie, it’s Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing. While it’s being promoted as a dark comedy – and it is funny at times – the director leans into the violent nature of this chase film far too often. The result is a whiplash experience, one in which you’re chortling one minute and gasping the next, the switch in tones at times so sudden it leaves the viewer unsure as to just what is going on.
The efforts of star Austin Butler keep us hanging on until the bloody end, the vulnerability he brings to lovable loser Hank Thompson having us in the character’s corner from the start. A high school baseball phenom whose career was cut short by an auto accident, he now tends bar in New York City, circa 1997. He’s going nowhere fast but doesn’t seem to mind as long as Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz), a paramedic who looks past his flaws, is by his side.
He makes an innocent mistake one day when he agrees to look after his neighbor Russ’ (Matt Smith) cat. This leads to a series of misunderstandings when Hank is mistaken for his absent friend by the mobster Colorado (Bad Bunny) and his goons. Seems Russ is in possession of $4 million and this wannabe hood wants it.
Problem is, he’s not the only one who wants the cash. Soon a pair of ruthless Jewish brothers, Lipa and Shmully (Live Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio) are on his tail as is the crooked cop Roman (Regina King). Hank finds himself on the run, with no one to turn to, getting battered and bruised whenever one or the other of his pursuers catch him. Fortunately, he’s good at escaping again and again.
A word of warning – don’t get attached to any of the characters. This is a cruel world Aronofsky plunges us into in which life is cheap, and death is harsh. As a result, the attempts at humor often clash with the mayhem on display. Some of the laughs work – Hank being taken to the brothers’ home for a Jewish meal is a delight – while at other times, they come off as cheap attempts to get a chuckle.
Still, Butler and the rest of the cast are great. There’s been so much talk lately about the absence of true movie stars, but Butler is the real deal. His boyish persona is impossible to resist while his ability to humanize his characters is appealing. You can’t take your eyes off him, and his co-stars benefit from being in the aura of his glow. Were it not for him and the rest of the cast, this would be an insufferable exercise.
As it is, Caught Stealing is a bit of an outlier in Aronofsky’s filmography in his attempting to use humor with his nihilistic sensibility. It stands to reason the maker of Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and The Whale, would have a sense of humor of the blackest sort. It’s hard to find anything funny in a cruel world but he should be given points for trying. In Theaters
Roses a pointed, funny look at love gone awry
On the surface, the casting of Coleman and Cumberbatch may seem a mistake, but it proves to be an inspired pairing. The former is Ivy, a chef who decides to restart her life in America after she’s swept off her feet by dissatisfied British architect Theo (Cumberbatch). He’s looking for a place where his gifts will be appreciated and California calls to them. They settle there, and she raises their two children while he establishes himself as a respected engineer. Years go by, a restlessness sets in, and Ivy opens a quant seaside restaurant called “We Got Crabs.”
What begins as a lark becomes a sensation, Ivy’s radical approach to preparing seafood gaining traction until she winds up opening franchises across the country. That proves fortuitous, as a maritime museum Theo designs ends up being a career-ending disaster. His career in ruins, he becomes a stay-at-home dad, anger setting in over his fate, resentment building over Ivy’s success. It’s only a matter of time before these feelings come to the surface which unleashes a torrent of repressed anger from both parties. It’s not long before the divorce attorneys are put on retainers.
The back and forth between the Roses provide the two stars with multiple occasions to deliver the deliciously cutting remarks Tony McNamara’s script. It’s obvious they’re relishing these scenes, their acidic line readings dripping with disdain. The audacious nature of what they say and do is funny; the twinkle in Coleman and Cumberbatch’s eyes puts it over the top.
They are ably supported by a group of American bores, each of whom are dealing with their own relationship issues. Rory and Sally (Jamie Demetriou and Zoe Chao) are perfectly suited for one another, each as dumb as a post. Yet, despite their dim exteriors, there’s a sense each would drop the other in a heartbeat were someone simply suggest they run away together. Even more effective are Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon, as longtime marrieds Barry and Amy who are searching for ways to rekindle the spark that initially brought them together. The offhand comments each makes about the other and the pain they carry are as funny as they are accurate.
Yet, there is a moment that strikes home regarding what lies at the core of most relationships. Despite her efforts to bed Theo, the constant insults she lobs at her husband and her vain attempts to spice up their marriage, Amy confesses that when the chips are down, Barry is the only one she knows she can count on. This is telling of so many marriages, the complaints about trifles at hand obscuring the deeply felt sentiments at the foundation of the relationship. It’s an honest moment amidst the escalating chaos, driving home the tragedy of the Roses’ inability to realize this about themselves.
To be sure, there are those who will fail to see humor in the violence that erupts between the Roses, while anyone who’s been through a bitter divorce will likely cringe once Ivy and her steely attorney, Eleanor (Allison Janney) begins to make their demands for a settlement. However, for those who prefer their humor as black as their coffee, The Roses will hit the mark. This comedy as smart as it is funny, Roach and McNamara refusing to look away from the absurdity that ensues when “We’ll live happily ever after,” gives way to “I can’t stand the sight of your face.” In Theaters.
Quirky characters salvage Honey Don’t
What an odd film Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t is. It smacks of neo-Raymond Chandler, sports the dark quirky sense of humor the director and his brother Joel have become known for and features an odd assortment of fully realized characters you hope to spend more time with. So far, so good. And yet, there are some nagging missteps that prevent this tangential murder mystery from coming all together. Its disparate tones clash throughout, leaving the viewer uncertain as to Coen’s intent, while the solution as to who’s been behind all the homicidal mayhem lands with a thud. Frankly, I’m still not sure of their motivation or how their paths crossed with all of those who are now taking the big sleep.
And yet, despite these flaws, I liked the film for the most part, thanks to the colorful performances from the committed cast and the sense of place Coen creates. Far from the mean streets of Los Angeles where Phillip Marlowe trod, the rundown, perpetually dirty streets of industrial Bakersfield, California and its arid outskirts are the setting. Castaways and the forgotten inhabit these dingy environs, attempting to eke out an existence, their hardscrabble life leaving them prey to those that would exploit their situation.
Like most private investigators, Honey O’Donahue (Maragaret Qualley) gets by on infidelity cases, providing proof to the suspicious that their partner or spouse is cheating on them. However, when 20-something Mia Novotny (Kara Petersen), who was set to meet with her to discuss a dire matter ends up dead in a car accident, something about the timing of it all doesn’t seem right. Digging a bit further into what’s been deemed a vehicular homicide by police detective Marty Metakawitch (Charlie Day), she finds the young woman was a member of the Four Way Temple. Run by the Rev. Drew Devlin (Chris Evans), who isn’t above sharing the pleasures of the flesh with the women in his congregation. An obvious conman, his natural charisma keeps these desperate people under his sway. However, he bristles under O’Donahue’s questioning, afraid she’ll uncover his involvement with a French drug cartel.
While the intrepid detective tries to get to the bottom of Novotny’s murder, a great many incidents occur, some connected to the mystery, some not. A drug buy gone bad sets off a chain of events that results in the death of one of Devlin’s couriers and his grandmother as well as that of two of the reverend’s amorous followers and a bag man. While this is happening, O’Donahue begins a torrid affair with police officer MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza), her niece Heidi (Kristen Connelly) goes missing and a key figure from her past returns.
All standard elements of the genre, Coen and screenwriter Tricia Cooke lay them out efficiently, daring the audience to keep up. Not every plot point is related to the initial murder. Some are red herrings. Yet, I didn’t object to this open-ended approach, primarily because of the film’s ironic tone and characters. Day is a hoot as the blissfully clueless Metakawitch. Gabby Beans as Spider, our heroine’s assistant, bristles with sass. Josh Pafchek as the doomed lackey Shuggie provides laughs with his listless presence. Even the background characters are given moments to inject a dose of sardonic humor that makes the familiar fresh.
These characters and the energetic cast salvage Honey. In the end, who did what to who and why means nothing. It’s how one survives in an unjust, cruel world that’s the theme and this collection of misfits provide the playbook to do so. They’ve found that lighthearted cynicism is the only way to get by. In Theaters.
This article appears in August 28-September 3, 2025.
