OBSERVER: Rourke’s Reviews
Caught Stealing
(MA). 107 minutes. Available to rent or buy on selected digital platforms.
Following the artificial, hollow and unsatisfying The Whale (which received wild praise and an Oscar for Brendan Fraser), director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem For A Dream, Mother!) makes a huge return to form with Caught Stealing, which while openly embracing its influences, also makes sure it has a beating heart all its own.
Set in 1998, Austin Butler stars as Hank, a once-promising baseball player who works at a New York bar, and loves to consume the stock, much to the concern of his maybe girlfriend Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz), who wants their relationship to be something more serious.
When Hank’s punk neighbour Russ (Matt Smith) suddenly has to leave town, forcing him to take care of his cat, Bud, it will unknowingly lead him into a criminal world which will turn his world upside down.
Advertised as yet another Tarantino/Ritchie clone, Caught Stealing is so much more than that, with Charlie Huston’s screenplay (based on his novel) anchored by flesh-and-blood characters, who are genuinely bewildered and terrified by the brutal world they’ve been dragged into. Aronofsky brings tremendous energy to the material (and pairs once more with cinematographer Matthew Libatique, to stunning effect), concentrating on the human factor first, ensuring plot turns have maximum impact. Writer and director also allow the audience to encounter the escalating situation at the same time Hank does, keeping us on our toes, while the lack of high-tech prevents everyone from being ahead of what is going on.
The increasingly threatening journey is certainly inspired by Martin Scorsese’s brilliant After Hours (1985), and Aronofsky isn’t afraid to show his love for that film, but never at the expense of the story he is telling.
On top of that, he is obviously enjoying being back on the chaotic streets of New York, which was the setting for his incredible, 1998 debut feature, Pi.
Butler is outstanding as Hank, bringing a real humanity to a flawed individual, while Kravitz exudes a kindness and patience with Yvonne.
The whole cast bring their best to the large gallery of eccentric, and/or intimidating characters. While there is that particular blend of humour and violence that many modern crime films have in the wake of Tarantino, Caught Stealing is more interested in the people that populate this criminal milieu, and with a strong script as its foundation, allows an absolute in-form director and cast to deliver first-rate entertainment.
RATING – ****
Eddington
(MA). 149 minutes. Available to rent or buy on selected digital platforms.
To say Ari Aster is a frustrating film-maker is an understatement. All of his previous films (Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid) are technically impressive efforts,
with some potentially interesting themes and effective moments. Each one however fail due to fatal self-indulgence, a strange propensity of telegraphing their outcomes very early on (despite Hereditary having one genuinely shocking surprise), and especially with his first two films, a very obvious influence by the 1973 folk horror classic, The Wicker Man.
Which brings me to Aster’s latest, which despite some of the same flaws which undermine his other films, surprisingly emerges as his best film to date.
Set in 2020, Joaquin Phoenix stars as Joe Cross, sheriff of the small New Mexico town of Eddington, and his increasingly antagonistic relationship with mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), who are on either side of the pandemic debate, which is just taking hold of the country.
As Cross’s behaviour becomes more irrational, along with other townsfolk expressing outrage over multiple issues, things will soon explode in bloody fashion.
There have been a number of films dealing one way or another with the COVID era and what it did to us (Together, with James McAvoy, is a good example), and Aster thankfully doesn’t try to explain it away, instead pushing several topics to get very personalised responses from each and every one of us.
This will either fascinate or frustrate people, but I found it to be the best possible approach.
Performances are strong across the board, and as usual, it is beautifully crafted.
What hurts the film’s overall impact is Aster’s typically indulgent overlength, and telegraphing how everything will play out in its opening minutes (one could describe it as his own variation on The Parallax View).
Despite these flaws, Eddington is a film worth watching.
RATING – ****
Aaron Rourke