Few directors have messed with my mind more than Darren Aronofsky. From Requiem for a Dream to Mother!, we’ve gone to some dark places over the years. For his contribution to the 2025 movie calendar, however, the filmmaker may be going down a slightly different path with Caught Stealing. Critics have seen the crime thriller, which has Austin Butler dominating an overall impressive cast, and surprisingly, the word “scuzzy” comes up more than once.
Caught Stealing is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Charlie Huston (who also wrote the screenplay). At the center of the movie is Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), a retired baseball player who finds himself in the middle of New York City’s criminal network in the 1990s. In CinemaBlend’s review of Caught Stealing, Eric Eisenberg says the movie teeters on being derivative but ultimately delivers a mystery that combines thrills and fun. He rates it 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing:
Aronofsky’s adaptation of Charlie Huston’s novel of the same name is a refreshing change of pace tonally, and it showcases a new dimension of his tremendous skills. There’s no question that it still has its dark moments, from which it’s able to develop its character arcs and intense stakes, but the filmmaker allows himself to be a bit slick and cool while unfurling his comedic neo-noir thriller full of colorful personalities.
CinemaBlend’s critic also notes that the entire cast is having a lot of fun with their roles, but Austin Butler shines the brightest. That sentiment is shared by Rolling Stones’ David Fear, who praises the cast — particularly Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Drucker brothers — but this one is all about Butler proving that he is now a bona fide leading man. Fear continues:
You may go into this throwback thriller because of the director attached to it... You will leave fully realizing it’s not the latest Darren Aronofksy movie so much as the first actual Austin Butler movie, in which the A-list–adjacent gent isn’t catching your attention because he’s an alabaster alien maniac, or the King of Rock & Roll, or part of a larger chorus line high-kicking behind a bigger name. All he has to rely on here is pure screen presence and star wattage, and Butler completely makes it work. The guy can command a screen without having to play second fiddle to an I.P. or prosthetics or a far more famous co-star.
Caryn James of THR calls Caught Stealing an “entertaining, twisty and ultimately bloody caper,” writing:
Driven by Austin Butler‘s magnetism and chiseled supporting turns from a gaggle of top-flight actors, Caught Stealing is the most overtly commercial film Aronofsky has ever made. That may not sound like much next to the dark psychology of Black Swan, arguably his best film. But even his most mainstream efforts, like The Whale, aren’t nearly as glossy and sleek as this, and he pulls it off beautifully.
Peter Debruge of Variety is one of several critics who note how important New York City is as a backdrop to Hank’s story, accentuating the wide range of cultures and personalities that reside there. Debruge calls Caught Stealing a “scuzzy misfit of a movie,” saying maybe it’s not as much of a departure from his other works as it first appears. The critic continues:
Caught Stealing might feel like a break from the Pi director’s intensely subjective character portraits, which range from The Wrestler to The Whale, but in fact, Aronofsky brings us as close to Hank as he has to any of his other characters. For Butler, it’s not as flashy a role as the ones he played in Elvis or Dune, and yet, seeing the actor stripped down to his heather gray undies, his stardom is all but undeniable.
It’s not a clean sweep, critics-wise, as IndieWire’s Kate Erbland gives the movie a C+, saying it’s a swing and a miss for this “scuzzy and off-kilter” crime thriller. The final act comes together as what Darren Aronofsky seemed to be attempting, but until then, it just doesn’t pop. Erbland says:
It’s long, and filled with blood, guts, bones, puke, shit, and piss, plus an emergency organ removal. None of it goes down easy, but for as grim and gritty as Caught Stealing is, it only really gets going when leaning into the dark humor and profound absurdity at its center. ‘I wanted this crime caper to be funnier’? It’s true — you’ll want this crime caper to be funnier or at least more in tune with itself, and the moments in which it dares to hint at something much better, just under the surface.
Overall, critics seem to like what Darren Aronofsky has done, and Austin Butler just continues to prove himself. It holds a Certified Fresh 87% on Rotten Tomatoes (an impressive 85% on the Popcornmeter). Could it lead to Oscar nods for the Caught Stealing cast or crew come awards season? Time will tell, and this movie is in theaters now.
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