Review: Darren Aronofsky’s theft was a gritty, violent and frenetic knockout

Director Darren Aronofsky He has always been known for pushing his characters into dark and punitive corners, but with Captured to steal He takes a strong left turn in something wildly different.

This is a violent, fun and unpredictable criminal thriller that seems to be Aronofsky who detaches and plays in a sandbox in which he has never played before. The film surprised me, not only for how fun it is, but because it shows a side of Aronofsky that we have not really seen.

At the center of the story is Hank Thompson, played by Austin ButlerA former baseball prodigy whose life has leveled in something quite normal. He is taking care of the bar, he enjoys his life with his girlfriend (Zoë Kravitz), and look at his favorite team to take a race to the Pennant.

Everything moves when his neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) He asks him to take care of his cat. That little favor launches Hank in the middle of a violent underground world, in which gangsters and criminals are all after him for reasons he does not understand. From that moment on, the film approached energy, chaos and danger relentlessly.

The fingerprints of Aronofsky are still here, it does not make it easy on Hank, which suffers through the film in a way reminiscent of the “beating” style of heroics of action, but the tone is lighter, more clear and more playful than anything the director has done before.

Sometimes it looks like a Guy Ritchie Romp, with witty jokes, eccentric characters and a sense of humor that continues to cut the carnage. Other times it seems that it leans on the Coen BrothersBrand of narration and cinema. What is impressive is like Aronofsky makes these influences while maintaining a story tight and guided by the character.

The energy of the film is explosive and Butler is right in the center. He spends most of the runtime running frightened, out of his depth and constantly climbing to stay alive. That vulnerability is what makes it so easy to do.

It is fascinating and fun, but also painfully human, and looking at him try to get out of the situations he has never asked for is brutal and exciting. Butler’s performance gives the film its emotional nucleus, and so far it could be the most purely fun work of his career.

Visually and stylistically, Aonofsky is clearly having fun. The film moves at a rhythm of interruption with thesis action sequences, elegant camera works and a soundtrack that pumps the adrenaline even higher.

He is violent and bloody, yes, but he is also strangely joyful in the way he protrudes in chaos. The unpredictability of the story keeps you hooked, with twists and turns that throw you out of balance. Just when you think you know where it is going, it pulls you elsewhere.

What makes the theft of capture from the other work of Aronofsky breaks out is what is balanced. The darkness is still there since Hank takes more punishment than most of the protagonists can ever endure, but is stratified with humor, charm and personality.

Instead of drowning the story in misery, Aonofsky uses that grit to feed a frenetic and exciting criminal thriller. It is a film in which the growth of the character is as important as the action, which is why it works more than a simple visceral level.

In the end, Captured to steal It is an incredibly fun movie. He is violent, elegant, full of extraordinary shows and full of moments that made me smile, jump and laugh aloud.

Aronofsky could play in a new sandbox here, but it is clearly savoring it, and the result is a race for the shiver bombing that it offers at all levels. If you ever thought that Aronofsky was too heavy in the past, this could be the film that conquers you.