There’s not a lot of directors who can tackle heavy storylines and maintain the narative’s structural weight while also having fun. The Coen Brothers are masters at exactly this, with films like Raising Arizona and Fargo managing to thread that needle in dark and funny ways. At no point in either of those films do you stop caring about the characters, or stop laughing at the hijinks they’ve managed to get themselves into.

Darren Arronovsky’s latest film Caught Stealing feels like it’s trying to ape some aspects of an early Coen picture. The film is centered on Hank Thompson, who is a down on his luck former baseball star turned New York bartender. Set in the late 90s the movie takes us back to a New York City that’s scummier and less gentrified, as we see Hank cajole with his regulars, drink beer for breakfast, and flirt with his casual maybe girlfriend Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz). Butler and Kravitz chemistry pulsates on screen, if only that was more a centerpiece of the movie.

Hank runs into his neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) who instructs Hank to keep an eye on his cat, and my favorite performer of the film, Bud (Tonic) and before long Hank finds himself in a world of trouble. Various gang members start calling on Russ’ apartment looking for him and threatening Hank. One scuffle results in several kicks to the ribs for the one time promising baseballer, resulting in him losing his kidney and being unable to drink, the first sign that juggling of the lighthearted plot beat of watching a cat will be impossible to balance with the threatening presence of the New York City gangsters.

The movie regularly tries to pivot back and forth, from darkly brooding and heavy, to silly one liners and wacky Looney Tunes capers with such ferocity that it leaves the viewer feeling emotional whiplash. It’s eventually revealed that Hank’s future in Major League Baseball was brought to a close when he got drunk and crashed his car, killing his teammate in the passenger seat. The scene is played out in all it’s bloody detail, something Aronovsky is certainly a fan of. Disturbing visuals are a forte for the Academy Award Nominated director. But the severity of showing a scene like this sandwiched between Matt Smith revving up his cockney accent and trading barbs with Austin Butler is a puzzle that just doesn’t fit together, two pieces from two different boxes.

There are sections of the film that work, the jokey parts feel like they land better than the dreadfully depressing bits. And the set design and look of the movie is truly impressive. A chase scene where two Jewish gangsters, Lipa (Liev Schreiber) and Shmully (Vincent D’Onofrio), attempt to run down Hank, chasing him through 1998’s Chinatown is a scene that stands out above the rest. But every moment of living in a pre 9/11 New York is Aronofsky showing off this set design, it’s enough to get lost in. From Hank’s Apartment, to his place of business Paul’s Bar, to the fire escape that leads to a back alley, there are movies shot in New York in the 90s that don’t look as much like New York in the 90s as this film.

On the other hand, there are disastrous choices made for this movie that make it confusing, not only from the perspective of vibes, but also plot, theme, and moral. The movie attempts to stick a landing of success, but it never feels like Hank gets what he wanted, and realistically is going to be mentally and emotionally scarred for the rest of his life. It’s hard to view the last scene of Hank Thompson on a beach, smirking slightly, as any kind of victory, knowing what he’s gone through to get here, and how he has very little to show for it. Many of the problems at the heart of the movie are in the script itself, but it does feel like a more capable director could’ve navigated the writings choppy waters with more depth than Aronofsky does. It all winds up feeling messy and amateurish, even if the look of the movie is every bit as grungy as a brawl inside the CBGB.

2.5/5