This film is directed by Darren Aronofsky, whose directing always has an eye for capturing moments that are mentally challenging. At the same time, he is able to master the craft ofconjuring awareness and fear. As the many events unravel in Caught Stealing, his approach to humanistic dynamics becomes immersive in a compelling light. Caught Stealing is a work-of-art incorporating twists and turns that left me breathless. When one incident goes wrong, a past unravels, bringing in a bigger portrait with mesmerizing and unforgettable terrors with exhilarating components. Aronofsky is not afraid to bring out what his mind can envision as a director.

 The film focuses on a former ex-baseball player named Hank Thompson (Austin Butler). He works as a bartender in Brooklyn in the 1990s and has lot of weird and bipolar tendencies in his life. Along with that he has a tragic past that he cannot put behind him, as he once had everything he dreamed for and it was all stripped away from him. Everything changes when a normal day becomes one where he finds himself in a criminal underworld. Thanks to his neighbor Russ (Matt Smith), Hank must utilize his mind to navigate the bad crowd he has fallen in with. This  all starts with Hank agreeing to watch Russ’s pet cat.A strange cop named Roman (Regina King) questions Hank and two Jewish gangsters named Lipa (Liev Schreiber) and Shmully(Vincent D’Onofrio) who are also involved in the mix. A big crime boss named Colorado (Bad Bunny) also enters into this batch of bad people not much different from Hank.

Throughout the film, there is a tone of arrogance and misbelief through the eyes of Hank. This is because much of the writing presents itself make his character feel like he is in a karma mode. The volume of awry keeps turning the dial up to the extreme repeatedly in Caught Stealing making this film very enticing. What is even more compelling is how fatalities come and go in strange ways. Aronofsky creates deeper and deeper troubles that are spellbinding in Caught Stealing. He crafts a world that seems mafia-like and at the same time flies just below the radar.

Caught Stealing made me think a lot about the characterizations of Hank. Primarily, because he  leaves the impression that he is in territory that is not so new to him. With a past of some danger (it is written and seen in the film), there is a clear eye to why everything happens for a reason in Caught Stealing. As much as it should not be Hank’s responsibility, it is a landscape of rough roads that he lands himself in and must navigate. Due to Russ, Hank’s world is turned upside down with all kinds of peril. The world of treacherous environments thrives on a high level from the mind of Aronofsky in Caught Stealing. This is a one-of-a-kind sensation that blew me out of the water. Can Hank find out what is right and figure out who to trust? The 90’s world of threats and uncertainty takes the directing of Aronofsky to a new level. Three-and-a-half out of four stars.