Spoiler Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Caught Stealing. If you’ve yet to watch Darren Aronofsky’s 2025 movie, please exercise extreme caution.
Like a fair amount of people, I went and saw Caught Stealing during its opening weekend, and it’s safe to say I had a rip-roaring good time watching Austin Butler’s movie about a guy being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As the critics have pointed out (including CinemaBlend’s own review), Darren Aronofsky’s latest film, while violent and dark at times, is a more light-hearted and fun experience compared to his previous films.
However, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about all the similarities between Caught Stealing and Aronofsky’s directorial debut, Pi, a short and frantic black-and-white film that kicked off his stellar career back in 1998. During the movie, I kept trying to figure out if this was just a random coincidence or something more intentional, and I think I may have an answer.
Between Similar Characters, Situations, And Themes, These Two Movies Have A Lot In Common
Though Caught Stealing and Pi have two completely different stories – one is about a reclusive mathematician uncovering the key to crack the stock market and the unspeakable name of God while the other is about a bartender caught between rival gangs (including Hasidic Jews) looking for stolen cash – these movies have a lot in common. Both center on two broken men unknowingly getting caught up in something bigger than themselves, but it goes deeper than that.
In Caught Stealing and Pi, Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) and Max Cohen (Sean Gullette), respectively, find themselves encountering a similar motley crew of mysterious and violent criminals and authority figures who want to take advantage of them for their own personal gain. Then there are shared themes about religion, the evil of money, obsession, and freedom that are explored in great detail throughout both Aronofsky’s first film and his latest feature.
Caught Stealing And Pi Are Both Set In The Same General Area At Around The Same Time
Though the dates are ambiguous in Pi, the movie came out in July 1998, which is a couple of months before the events of Caught Stealing and its great mid-credits sequence, according to the Baseball Reference entry for the game Hank watches on TV after escaping New York City. Not only are both movies set around the same time, but they also cover a lot of the same ground. This got me thinking, is it possible that Hank and Pi’s Max crossed paths at some point before everything went down in their respective journeys?
In Pi, Max’s apartment is located in the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan, which is essentially right next to the Lower East Side, where Hank spends much of his time in Caught Stealing. However, there’s an even greater chance that the two could have crossed paths when you consider the fact that Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz), Hank’s girlfriend, lived in Chinatown as well (though her apartment is much nicer than Max’s cramped and disheveled living space).
In Fact, Both Movies Also Feature Coney Island In Pivotal Scenes
Another big similarity I noticed is the fact that both films have pivotal, character-driven scenes set in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, specifically along the water. At first, I thought it was a coincidence or staple (Aronofsky shot a great scene in Requiem for a Dream in the same area), but then I came across the director’s appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, where he talked about the similarities:
Well, the funny thing is how Coney Island functions in [Caught Stealing] is actually structurally and emotionally exactly the same as it does in Pi. In Pi, Max wakes up in Coney Island on the last stop and then goes down to the beach stairs at the water, and kind of has a turning point. And it's kind of very similar.
As Aronofsky mentioned, both movies have incredible scenes where the main character goes to Coney Island and sits on the edge of the beach while they ponder what they’re going to do next before everything is over and done with. The tonal, structural, and emotional similarities led me to believe that this was in some way an intentional choice.
It Turns Out The Caught Stealing Production Designer Hid The Pi Symbol Throughout The Movie
I also stumbled upon a short interview Aronofsky conducted with IMDb, where he revealed that the Caught Stealing production designer hid the Pi symbol throughout the movie as an homage to what he created nearly 30 years ago. I don’t know if he’s serious or not, but he issued a challenge for fans to find the correct number for a special prize. When this joins the list of new movies streaming in the next few months, this is going to be a fun Easter egg hunt.
The Pi symbols hidden throughout the movie are also a nod to the guerrilla marketing campaign Aronofsky and his friends carried out to spread word about his directorial debut back in 1998.
Honestly, It Feels Like Darren Aronofsky Has Come Full Circle With His Latest Film
Aronofsky has made some truly profound movies over the years, whether we’re talking about one-and-done experiences like Requiem for a Dream or mind-bending spectacles like Mother. Though Caught Stealing is tonally different than Pi and what the then-up-and-coming filmmaker was trying to achieve with his directorial debut, I can’t help but feel like he’s come full circle with his latest effort.
Back in his old stomping grounds for a movie set in a time that obviously meant a lot to him, it’s easy to see Aronofsky’s nostalgia on display in the new movie. It not only feels like a tribute to his youth, but also ‘90s New York City; the place is now very different compared to what it was in the era when he put up all those stickers.
Caught Stealing is showing in theaters nationwide.
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