There are few experiences as strange as watching a movie and feeling completely unmoved. Most films inspire, if not excitement, then at least annoyance or distaste. Darren Aronofsky’s “Caught Stealing,” which is currently in theaters, evokes none of these emotions. It is the cinematic equivalent of a shrug, yet some of its parts are so good that it should theoretically stimulate something more concrete than apathy.
The movie, based on a book of the same name by Charlie Huston, follows a New York bartender played by Austin Butler as he makes his way through a tragicomedy of errors after his cartoonish punk neighbor, Russ, entrusts him to take care of his cat. As the film wends on, Butler’s Hank encounters an assortment of stock characters — Russian mafia heavies, smooth-talking Puerto Rican club owners, Jewish mob bosses, sometimes girlfriends and crooked cops.
It’s a pretty hackneyed concept, executed pretty much exactly as you’d expect. There are very few surprises in Huston’s narrative; the big plot twists feel less like surprises than they do mechanical necessities to keep the story moving forward. The script is also prone to labored, sometimes eyeroll-worthy monologues about the city of New York, laden with leaden baseball metaphors.
While the narrative is pretty unremarkable, there is a lot to like as far as the film’s craft goes. Cinematographer Matthew Libatique, who also filmed in New York City for Spike Lee’s recent “Highest 2 Lowest,” renders the 1998 period setting vividly. The grit and grime of New York’s back alleys feel tangible, yet there’s a beauty to the way the light plays over the fire escapes.
The film’s score is likewise excellent. The British punk band IDLES, whose work has steadily grown more atmospheric and layered over the last few years, contributed five new songs to the soundtrack, as well as performing the instrumental score. The resulting album is great — “Coper” and “Rabbit Run” are particularly worthy additions to the band’s canon, and I predict that they will make regular appearances at the band’s famously rowdy live shows.
In addition to these IDLES tracks, Aronofsky intersperses various 90s alternative and punk tracks throughout the movie, which subtly cultivate an authentic atmosphere. Touches like “Closing Time” playing during a late-night bar scene and Sleater-Kinney’s “Call the Doctor” playing in strong-willed paramedic Yvonne’s apartment are clever.
This approach also feels authentically 1990s — “Caught Stealing” is not just set during the twilight of the 20th century, it emulates films made at that time, which often included extensive soundtracks of then-contemporary indie anthems.
While the film’s soundtrack is mostly contemporary to its setting, Butler’s character is stuck in the past, listening to classic rock and endlessly reliving the high-school car accident that quashed his dreams of MLB stardom. He’s a bona fide movie star, and his natural charisma overcomes the near-parodic commonplaceness of the character that he plays. Aronofsky makes great use of Butler’s physicality and willingness to get beaten up on camera, something that many stars today shy away from.
The music, cinematography and Butler’s acting are ultimately inadequate, though, in the face of the by-the-numbers plodding of Huston’s screenplay. There’s always something happening, but somehow I found myself bored for much of the film’s runtime. It will go triple platinum on FX Has The Movies if that still exists in five years.
