As we hurtle further into December, Netflix’s top 10 will likely be decked out with Christmas movies, with both old classics and newly-released favorites taking over its most-watched ranking. However, if you’re not in the mood for some festive celluloid just yet, you might enjoy “Caught Stealing”.
A fairly new title with an August 25 theatrical release earlier this year, this black comedy crime film was added to Netflix’s library on November 29 and now occupies its 8th spot. Its success is likely down to the casting of charismatic leading man Austin Butler, fresh from major and scene-stealing turns in “Elvis”, “The Bikeriders”, and “Dune 2”.
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What is ‘Caught Stealing’ about?
(Image credit: BFA/Sony Pictures/Alamy)
“Caught Stealing” adapts the first of a trilogy of violent crime novels by writer Charlie Huston.
Following a drunken car crash that left a promising baseball career in tatters, Henry “Hank” Thompson now works as a bartender in New York. Tasked by his neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) to look after his cat while he’s away, Hank is confronted by Russian mobsters looking for his friend to settle a debt.
He soon finds himself neck-deep in a drug plot that involves the police, a Puerto Rican gunman, a pair of Hasidic gangsters, and $4m in cash. In a frantic race against time with enemies converging from all sides, Hank needs to find a way out of this sticky situation while protecting himself, girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz), and innocent kitty Bud.
Should you stream ‘Caught Stealing’ on Netflix?
(Image credit: Niko Tavernise/Columbia Pictures)
It’s set in 1998, so it captures a grimmer, grittier side of New York, replete with seedy bars and rundown apartment buildings with peeling paint. It’s like you can still smell the freshly sprayed graffiti.
From first impressions, “Caught Stealing” seems to blend the kinetic action of “Snatch,” the slapstick yet darkly comic tones of the Coen brothers’ work (think “The Big Lebowski”), with a classic case of mistaken identity, a la “Lucky Number Slevin”.
It’s set in 1998, so it captures a grimmer, grittier side of New York, replete with seedy bars and rundown apartment buildings with peeling paint. It’s like you can still smell the freshly sprayed graffiti.
Austin Butler also pulls a star–making turn as the grounded yet intense Hank, and his chemistry with Kravitz’s Yvonne will undeniably sizzle on the screen.
“Caught Stealing” also has a respectable score of 6.9 out of 10 on IMDB, and critics gave the thriller a solid thumbs up with a Certified Fresh rating of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. Surprisingly, audiences are in uncharacteristic agreement, conferring the movie with a Popcornmeter score of 83%.
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Philip Concannon of Sight & Sound magazine said, “It seems like Darren Aronofsky is finally having fun, and for a brisk 107 minutes, so are we.”
That noted 107-minute runtime seems rare in this age of bladder-busting 2-hour-plus blockbusters. So you’ll likely have time to squeeze this one in, particularly for the couch-snoozers among you.
Despite its plaudits, “Caught Stealing” unfortunately flopped at the box office, raking in only $32 million globally despite its $40 million budget. That said, it’s looking like it may garner some success on Netflix, following this top 10 appearance. And, as noted, it could be the perfect alternative to Christmas rom-coms.
And if you’re unconvinced, be sure to check out our Netflix streaming page, covering all the latest additions and updates from the streaming giant.
Stream “Caught Stealing” on Netflix now.
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