Darren Aronofsky’s film Caught Stealing is adapted from Charlie Huston’s novel. Aronofsky moves away from his usual style to deliver a tense, bloody crime thriller. The story follows Hank, a down-on-his-luck bartender played by Austin Butler. What begins as a simple favor soon drags him into a violent world of gangsters, stolen money, and personal reckoning. The film has shootouts, betrayals, and double-crosses, but it also explores Hank’s emotional journey, making the chaos feel grounded.
Hank’s story is a rollercoaster. He starts by agreeing to watch his neighbor’s cat, but things quickly spiral. He’s not a violent man, but past trauma and circumstance push him into dangerous situations. During the chaos, he accidentally kills Russ while trying to help. Later, he kills in self-defense and revenge, including the Drucker brothers. By the end, Hank escapes the country with 4 million dollars and heads to Tulum with his friend Bud. He is sober now, his baseball dreams are gone, but he seems ready for a quieter life.
Yvonne, Hank’s love interest, dies in the story, and her death shakes him deeply. At first, Hank thinks a gangster killed her, but it’s actually Colorado. Later, Hank realizes the Drucker brothers are involved after spotting Yvonne’s gun-shaped lighter among their things. Lipa and Schmully admit to her murder, and Hank deliberately crashes their car, killing them both in revenge.
The ending leaves room for a sequel. The story hints at more adventures from Charlie Huston’s trilogy. The second book, Six Bad Things, takes Hank into hiding in South America, where the Russian mafia chases him over stolen money and threatens his family. But nothing about the sequels has been officially confirmed for film yet.
At its heart, Caught Stealing is about confronting trauma rather than running from it. Hank’s past—his failed baseball career and reliance on alcohol—has kept him stuck. The violence forces him to face himself. Yvonne’s plea, even though he couldn’t save her, becomes a turning point, pushing him toward self-control and healing. The film is as much about emotional growth as survival, showing a man forced to confront his past and find a way forward.