US EditionDarren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing Turns Austin Butler’s Cat-Sitting Gig Into a Chaotic Crime Caper that’s a White-Knuckle Ride
Former baseball prospect Hank Thompson's life unravels after agreeing to cat-sit, leading him into a violent conflict among Russian and Hasidic mobsters in 1998 New York City.
- On August 29, 2025, Darren Aronofsky's Caught Stealing opens, adapted by Charlie Huston and starring Austin Butler as Hank Thompson in 1998 New York City.
- After decades making bleak films, Darren Aronofsky opted for a lighter, funnier approach, adapting Charlie Huston's novel and leaning into 1990s nostalgia and period detail.
- Agreeing to cat-sit for neighbor Russ, Hank Thompson is beaten by Russian mobsters, wakes in hospital without a kidney, and becomes hunted by Hasidic enforcers Lipa and Shmully.
- Reviewers note Caught Stealing is among Aronofsky's more accessible films, and critics highlight Austin Butler's breakout performance while questioning if Sony Pictures can gain a box-office boost Friday.
- Technically, Matthew Libatique's cinematography and the production design sell the 1990s setting, with a score by Idles richly evoking late-1990s New York and marking a lighter turn in Darren Aronofsky's filmography.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Why Austin Butler's phone has 'a collage' of baseball players' butts for 'Caught Stealing' role
The "Elvis" Oscar nominee plays a former baseball player in Darren Aronofsky's new dark comedy crime thriller.Niko Tavernise/ColumbiaKey PointsIn Caught Stealing, Austin Butler plays Hank Thompson, a former star baseball player with his eyes on a professional career.To play Hank, Butler wanted to train his body to look like that of a baseball player.Director Darren Aronofsky sent him many pictures of baseball players' butts to use as inspiration…
With "Caught Stealing" "Black Swan" director Darren Aronofsky brings a gangster film to the cinema, which is clearly different from his other works. In the leading role, Austin Butler has to endure so much in this novel adaptation that hurts while watching.
Passed in New York in the '90s, "Accessed to Roubar' is Darren Aronofsky's best film from "Cisne Black", a "thriller" full of black humor. Eurico de Barros gives him four stars.
<em>Caught Stealing</em>: Giants Fan
In some ways, Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing reminds you of his first feature film π. It’s set in 1998, when π was released, it takes place in the same gritty Lower New York milieu, and it’s about one terrified guy fleeing through the city from some badass Orthodox Jews. Yet this lowbrow thriller doesn’t have the horror-movie trappings of π or Aronofsky’s other best work. It compensates for that with some modest charms. Austin Butler portray…
Review: In 'Caught Stealing,' a crime caper in '90s New York starring Austin Butler
Darren Aronofsky has already made several indelibly New York movies, his latest, “Caught Stealing,” is easily the director’s most affectionate portrait of his hometown, writes AP Film Writer Jake Coyle in his review.
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