Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) was a star baseball player in high school, leading his team to become the 1982 California state champions. He was on track to make it to the pros. However, a tragic accident cut his baseball career short. He has since moved to New York City, where he works as a bartender, and has found a wonderful girlfriend, nurse Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz). It’s been 16 years since the accident, but the memories of the events still cause him to wake up in the middle of the night. Hank still loves baseball, rooting for his hometown Dodgers—who look like they have a good chance to go all the way this year. He calls his mother back home regularly to talk about the team’s progress.

One morning, Hank’s punk neighbor, Russ (Matt Smith), asks him to watch his cat, Buzz. His father had a stroke and he needs to fly back to London to be with him. Hank reluctantly agrees, but shortly afterwards, he sees two burly members of the Russian mafia knocking on Russ’ door and tossing his apartment, looking for something. Pavel (Nikita Kukushkin) & Aleksei (Yuri Kolokolnikov) confront Hank about where Russ is, and demand he hand over what they’re looking for (though they won’t say what it is). Hank doesn’t know what’s going on, and soon finds himself in the hospital with one less kidney. Scared for his life, and not knowing what Russ has gotten him into, Hank calls the police for help. Detective Roman (Regina King) warns Hank that his neighbor is involved in dealing/distributing drugs, and that there are even more dangerous men to watch out for. She refers to the Hebrews, Lipa (Liev Schreiber) & Shmully (Vincent D’Onofrio), as “scary monsters” who won’t stop until they get what they’re looking for. Now Hank finds himself being pursued by various gangsters looking for whatever Russ gave to him, and not knowing who he can trust. He must figure out what Russ was up to, what these people are looking for, and how to get out of this situation, before he or his loved ones end up dead.

I had never really been much of a Darren Aronofsky fan as I always found his films to be a bit too artsy, pretentious and out there. However, Caught Stealing is a much more straightforward, mainstream film. It is action-packed with so many twists and turns that you constantly don’t know what’s coming next. The story keeps you guessing, and goes in some very surprising and unexpected directions! The film is set in 1998, and often feels like a love letter to New York City. It is beautifully shot, and takes the viewer back to a simpler time, before everyone had smartphones and the internet at their fingertips, and pre-9/11 (the film opens with a shot of the NYC skyline including the twin towers). Caught Stealing just feels like a throwback and a classic action film from a different era.

Butler is excellent in this role, which is quite physically demanding. Hank is constantly on the run (literally) hanging from windows, or being beat up by the bad guys, who are looking for something he doesn’t know he has. As this mystery plays out, Hank is also dealing with some unresolved demons from his past. The rest of the cast is also stacked, both with great actors and strong performances. Zoë Kravitz has great chemistry with Butler—Yvonne and Hank feel like a real couple that you want to root for. Nikita Kukushkin) & Yuri Kolokolnikov, who play the two Russian mobsters, perfectly complement each other. One is calm and rational, while the other is hot-headed and violent, and while they are quite menacing, there’s also some odd comic relief with these characters. In a similar vein are the Hebrews. Liev Schreiber & Vincent D’Onofrio are wonderful together. Lipa & Shmully always seem calm and collected, but constantly calculating and would not hesitate in taking out anyone who crosses them. However, they hide their daily work from their Bubbe (Carol Kane), who may be the only person they are scared of disappointing. Kane is hilarious in this role as the mother who believes her gangster sons are just good Jewish boys. Then there’s Regina King, who always delivers a solid dramatic performance but also gets a chance at some humor as Detective Roman. Roman is this mysterious woman that constantly has you wondering if she’s actually good or bad, and whose best interests she has in mind. The film also features Griffin Dunne as Hank’s boss, hippie bar owner Paul, and Benito Martínez Ocasio (aka Bad Bunny) as Colorado, a club owner who’s also looking for Russ and tortures Hank for information. And rounding out the main cast are Hank’s neighbors, played Matt Smith and George Abud. Smith’s Russ is the catalyst for everything that happens to Hank, and once he returns to NYC, things really start to escalate, with Hank unsure whether Russ is telling him the truth. Duane is Hank and Russ’ other web designer neighbor, who is primarily there for comic relief. He’s a bit of a Karen, constantly complaining about noise and the gangsters in the hallway.

Sony has released Caught Stealing on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. We were sent the Blu-ray release for review, which looks and sounds great. The picture is has a pleasant amount of film grain, which helps to evoke the throwback setting of the film. There is an excellent level of detail in close-ups as well as the beautiful wide shots of the city setting. The audio track provides clear dialogue, and makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to provide the immersive sounds of the chaos and city ambiance. The disc contains just under 20 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and crew. The release includes just a single Blu-ray disc packed in a standard HD keepcase. Our review copy did not include any slipcover. An insert provides instructions on how to redeem an HD digital copy of the film.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:46:43)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Audio Descriptive Service, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French Audio Descriptive Service, Thai 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, French, Korean, Spanish, Thai

Digital (Limited time offer):

• HD Movies Anywhere digital copy of the film.

Extras:

• Aronofsky: The Real Deal (5:48)
  The cast and filmmakers discuss how the film came about, adapting the novel, casting the film, working with the director, keeping things authentic, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Darren Aronofsky, screenwriter/author Charlie Huston, stunt coordinator Brian Machleit, producer Mark Friedberg, set decorator Lisa Scoppa, and stars Austin Butler (“Hank”), Zoë Kravitz (“Yvonne”), Matt Smith (“Russ”), Yuri Kolokolnikov (“Aleksei”), Nikita Kukushkin (“Pavel”), Regina King (“Roman”), Liev Schreiber (“Lipa”) & Vincent D’Onofrio (“Shmully”).
• Casting Criminals, Chaos, and a Cat (6:54)
  The cast and filmmakers discuss the characters and the cast playing them, and working with Tonic the cat. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Darren Aronofsky, and stars Austin Butler, Matt Smith, Benito Martínez Ocasio (“Colorado”), Liev Schreiber, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Nikita Kukushkin, Action Bronson (“Amtrak”), Griffin Dunne (“Paul”), Regina King & Zoë Kravitz.
• I Don’t Drive (3:30)
  The cast and filmmakers talk discuss the process of filming the stunts. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with stunt coordinator Brian Machleit, director Darren Aronofsky, and stars Austin Butler, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Vincent D’Onofrio, Liev Schreiber & Matt Smith.
• New York Story (3:24)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about filming in and making a love letter to New York City, keeping things authentic, bringing back the ’90s, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Darren Aronofsky, screenwriter/author Charlie Huston, producer Mark Friedberg, costume designer Amy Westcott, and stars Austin Butler, Regina King, Matt Smith & Benito Martínez Ocasio.
• Previews (5:28)
  Trailers for 28 Years Later and A Big Bold Beautiful Journey play back-to-back.

Final Thoughts:

I’ve never really been a Darren Aronofsky, but Caught Stealing quickly won me over. It is a captivating, action-packed drama that also has some humor. Austin Butler heads up and all-star cast of quirky characters, for this story set in 1998 New York, which takes lots of unexpected twists and turns. Sony’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great (and there’s also a 4K release for those who want even high resolution). The disc also contains a small but interesting assortment of bonus featurettes. Fans of the cast/film will defintely want to pick this up. The film also comes recommended for anyone looking for an entertaining, action-packed drama/mystery about someone who suddenly finds themselves stuck in the middle of a dangerous situation, and must try to figure out what’s going on, who to trust, and how to get out.