Some filmmakers immediately establish their identity from the start of their careers and essentially ride a wave of popularity for the rest of their lives. Then some seem to take some time to fully craft their authorial voice, sometimes requiring several films for them to stand out. Darren Aronofsky is a peculiar case, since he embodies both in very different ways – his debut Pi was followed by the borderline revolutionary Requiem for a Dream, which confirmed him as an immense talent – but the years that followed were populated by works that ranged in quality, often being very divisive, particularly due to his over-reliance on complex ideas and deep allegories that were as polarising as they were intriguing. At some point in the last decade, he decided to redefine himself – films like Noah and The Whale seemed almost too earnest in their attempts to be straightforward entries into their respective genres (with mother! being nestled neatly in the middle, by far his most unconventional and challenging work, and one that audiences are still trying to comprehend), and while they have their merits, they’re not truly great films. However, everyone deserves another chance, and as we now see, this patience has manifested in something quite special in the form of Caught Stealing, an adaptation of the novel by Charlie Huston (who also worked on the screenplay), and which follows roughly 24 hours in the life of a former baseball prodigy with a harrowing past who finds himself in increasingly dangerous scenarios after his troublesome neighbour asks him to look after his cat, not realising how just about every career criminal in New York City is on the prowl, leading him to rely on a combination of his intuition and resourcefulness to ensure that he doesn’t become yet another victim of what soon reveals itself to be quite a sinister plot. A fascinating blend of character-driven drama and outrageous comedy, Caught Stealing is Aronofsky’s best film in well over a decade, a wonderfully engaging and effortlessly entertaining work that proves the director still possesses that spark of ingenuity that we haven’t seen all that often, and which slowly begins to reveal itself as the foundation for some exceptional directorial decisions that proves to be the very definition of a return to form.

There exists a slightly niche but still very popular sub-genre of film that we can call the “one crazy night” comedy – we’re introduced to an effortlessly likable protagonist (who is usually very flawed, but in a way that is still quite charming), and they’re forced to resolve something in quite a short span of time, usually a few hours or over the course of a day or two, which leads to a very compelling approach to the storytelling process. Everything is truncated into a relatively small narrative space, and the writing has to be much sharper to compress everything into this format, leading to some intriguing details emerging in the process. This is essentially the core of Caught Stealing, which is a film that takes place over roughly a day and follows the protagonist as he gets more immersed in a sinister plot. Whether being mistaken for a criminal himself or being pursued by the very people who claim to be his allies, he becomes increasingly more involved in a situation that he did not expect to find himself in, which gives the story its structure as well as a range of additional qualities from which Aronofsky and Huston can make some terrific observations. Thematically, Caught Stealing is not overly deep – the story of a man who leads a relatively pleasant life, but still finds himself haunted by the memories of the tragic accident that both robbed him of his future career and his best friend, to the point where the situation that he finds himself in becomes an opportunity for redemption. This is the overall surface-level concept from which the film derives most of its story, and it allows for a simpler, straightforward approach that the director carefully explores, never overstepping the mark to the point where it loses its charm, but also not limiting itself to the same basic techniques where they don’t quite fit. It’s a fascinating film, and paints a vivid picture of New York City at a very particular point in the past (since it is set in 1998, a curious time for the city), filling it with eccentric characters that each represent a range of archetypes that are very familiar to the cityscape, and here become major players in this outrageously funny and insightful narrative.

While a good story and strong direction are enough to make any film enjoyable, the quality that truly pushes it towards greatness is having the right actors to bring it to life. Austin Butler has come a long way since he was nothing more than a teen idol, known for a range of family-oriented projects. Yet, with every new performance he delivers, he proves that the leap of faith that a couple of directors like Quentin Tarantino and Baz Luhrmann took when casting him in their films (with the decision to enlist him to play Tex Avery in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and Elvis Presley in Elvis being surprisingly controversial at the time) was a brilliant decision. In Caught Stealing, he adds another esteemed auteur to his dance card, with Aronofsky seeing the same potential as the other filmmakers that set out to capture Butler’s raw talent. His career is truly only starting now, and we still have a long way to go before we reach his peak; nonetheless, this film contains some of Butler’s best work to date, specifically since it proves that he’s a true star. There were some concerns that he was only impressive in the past based on the strength of the film or the role he was playing – but in Caught Stealing, he proves this to be entirely false, since the entire film is built around him, and he’s playing an original character, which means all he can depend on is his raw talent and undeniable charisma, the results speaking for themselves. When Butler is considered the biggest star of his generation, there’s no doubt this film is going to be fondly remembered as one of the first indications that he truly had what it takes to represent the next generation. He’s joined by a sprawling supporting cast – Zoë Kravitz makes up the other half of one of the most beautiful on-screen couples we’ve seen in years, Regina King proves she always has a few surprises up her sleeves, and there’s scene-stealing work by Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Griffin Dunne (whose presence alludes to a film I believe was an inspiration for this one) and Matt Smith, all of whom are wonderful additions to the mosaic of off-the-wall personalities that surround Butler’s protagonist, being either obstacles or bridges on his journey, if not both.

The key reason Caught Stealing feels like such a resounding success is quite simple – the director abandons all illusions of complexity and instead focuses on the very simple act of entertaining the audience. Luckily, the novel (and the eventual screenplay the author himself wrote, ensuring it stayed consistent with his vision) had enough potential to be a success, so half the work was already done in terms of conceiving of the story. The rest comes down to how Aronofsky decided to interpret the film, and rather than making it a heavy-handed, dense crime drama, he chooses to go in the other direction, which is to develop it as an effervescent, offbeat dark comedy that is surprisingly sprightly and easygoing, a laidback work in the same vein as films like After Hours and Inherent Vice, similar stories of ordinary people who find themselves in a precarious situation that seemingly can only be resolved through interacting with a motley crew of eccentric characters, which takes them on picaresque journeys that are as perilous as they are wickedly entertaining. This is what Caught Stealing does so exceptionally well – it moves at a rapid pace, never dwelling on one moment too long, and always going for the most unpredictable approaches, even if they can lead to some unconventional twists and turns, which are genuinely surprising and prove there was a lot more to this film than initially meets the eye. Choosing to infuse it with layers of humour was perhaps the most unique decision, since Aronofsky has yet to make any film in which the comedy is front-and-centre, and despite some very dark moments and a few scenes that are quite melancholic, there is a levity behind this film that makes it even richer and more engaging than we’d expect based on a cursory glance. Aronofsky’s direction is slick and straightforward, and he wastes very little time in establishing a vision for this film, which immediately makes it one of his most worthwhile experiments, even when it does veer towards the obvious on one or two occasions.

Caught Stealing may not be Aronofsky’s most ambitious artistic achievement or thought-provoking work, but its certainly the most fun film he’s made so far, and essentially allows him to accomplish something that has been evading him for years, which is the ability to make a true crowdpleaser, a film designed to entertain more than it pushes boundaries, while still having something to say in the process, proving that it isn’t just about spectacle without any substance. I doubt that this will signal a radical left-turn into comedy for Aronofsky, but instead should be viewed as yet another wonderful diversion into a new genre for a director whose dedication to reinventing himself and his approach to filmmaking is always admirable, even if the results can sometimes be inconsistent. As a whole, he achieved something quite special with Caught Stealing, a film that is not too pre-occupied with defining itself right from the start, being perfectly content with just following a free-form train of thought, being far less concerned with logic and more with capturing a specific tone and atmosphere, which ultimately forms the foundation for this film and leads to some wonderfully engaging moments. It’s a tremendously entertaining work that never takes itself all that seriously, but has enough self-awareness to know how to handle certain subjects, which it does with incredible precision, anchored by a very impressive lead performance and a terrific supporting cast, all of whom are in perfect alignment with what the director envisioned for this material. Offbeat, daring and frequently quite engaging, Caught Stealing is an unexpected triumph, and the best film that Aronofsky has made in well over a decade – whether or not he’ll continue what we hope will become a streak remains to be seen, but it does prove that he can very effectively make something that follows conventions and still manages to be extremely compelling and far more enduring that any of his lacklustre attempts at provocation ever could achieve.