In terms of style and substance, Darren Aronofsky movies tend to have many similarities. Most offer dark examinations of the human experience, often focusing on such themes as self-destructive obsessions, psychological trauma and the like. But his latest is something quite different. “Caught Stealing” is a loud and messy attempt at mixing black comedy with a crime thriller. It has its moments of pop appeal, but not enough of them.

Aronofsky directs from a screenplay written by Charlie Huston. It’s a screenplay based on Huston’s own 2004 novel of the same name. For me, the film’s biggest draw is rising star Austin Butler. With an Academy Award nomination already under his belt, the 34-year-old Butler has certainly made a name for himself, having worked with such names as Tarantino, Villeneuve, Nichols, Aster, and now Aronofsky.

Set in 1998, Butler plays Hank Thompson, an alcoholic in denial who works as a bartender in New York City’s Lower East Side. Hank was a high school baseball phenom who was expected to be the top pick in the Major League Baseball draft. But his future was derailed after a drunk driving accident kills his friend and severely injures his knee. Now he’s left regretting his past and wondering what might have been. To get by he relies on a lot of booze and his overly patient girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz).

One afternoon Hank and Yvonne arrive at his apartment where they’re greeted by his neighbor, an obnoxious punk rock hellion named Russ (Matt Smith). Russ informs Hank that he’s returning to London to see his dying father and he needs someone to look after his cat. Hank reluctantly agrees. But things get crazy when Hank is visited by two Russian mobsters, Aleksei (Yuri Kolokolnikov) and Pavel (Nikita Kukushkin) who are looking for Russ. Hank gets beaten to pulp and threatened with more if he doesn’t find Russ and the money he stole before skipping the country.

From there Aronofsky’s loud, brash, and violent crime romp moves at breakneck speed. As it does, more characters enter the chaos, most notably Regina King as a dogged police detective, Elise Roman. And I can’t forget Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio as Hasidic brothers Lipa and Shmully Drucker, two notorious gangsters with connections to Russ and the missing money. Like every other character, they’re each given standout moments. And like every other character, they’re sometimes lost in the mayhem.

For most of its running time, “Caught Stealing” bops along as a comically violent, gleefully profane, and inherently silly mishmash. Yet there are a handful of what should be emotionally crucial moments that are impossible to take seriously amid the zany genre hopscotch. At the same time, the glimpses we get of Aronofsky’s usual deep-thinking interests remain hazy due to the film’s frustrating identity crisis. And even a terrific ensemble led by the effortlessly charismatic Butler can’t make this uneven exercise crackle the way it should.

VERDICT – 2 STARS