In his first feature film “Pi,” director Darren Aronofsky told the story of, well, as he described at the time to the Jewish Journal: “God, Math and badass Jews.”
“Pi” was partly inspired by Aronofsky’s experiences in Israel, where he was exposed to Kabbalah. It was about a possibly unhinged New York City Jewish mathematician, Max Cohen, on the verge of what is possibly a groundbreaking discovery, who gets sucked into the world of gematria (the Hebrew numerological system) and kabbalah with some help from a local sect of Hassidic Jews.
The movie helped launch Aronosfksy’s career. He went on to direct iconic and sometimes controversial films like “Requiem for a Dream,” “The Fountain,” “Black Swan,” “The Wrestler,” “Mother!” and most recently, “The Whale.”
And now, he’s going back to telling stories about badass Jews in his latest film, “Caught Stealing.” It comes out on Aug. 29 and stars Jewish actor Liev Schreiber as a very observant but morally unscrupulous Jewish mobster.
The movie, based on a book by Charlie Huston, tells the story of Hank, a former baseball player turned New York bartender, played by Austin Butler (“Elvis,” “Masters of the Air”). When his punk neighbor Russ (played by Matt Smith who is giving me flashbacks of the Jew-ish “SLC Punk” with his giant mohawk) asks him to cat-sit, Hank ends up getting embroiled with everyone the apparently money-laundering Russ is at odds with: “the Russians, the Hebrews, the Puerto Ricans.” (One of the latter is played by none other than Bad Bunny!)
The two sibling Haredi mobsters are played by Schreiber, who plays Lipa, and Vincent D’Onofrio, who plays Shmully.
“I just don’t know how much I want to give away, but they’re a bunch of badass motherfuckers,” Aronofsky told Vanity Fair this April. “In their own minds, they think they’re doing the right thing. Mayor Giuliani might’ve thought that they were on the wrong side.”
Schreiber, known for his role as mafioso “Ray Donovan,” has been outspoken about his connection to his Jewish family and history, reminiscing about Passover seders at his grandparents’ homes and denouncing rising antisemitism. He recently played Anna Frank’s father, Otto Frank, in the TV show “A Small Light.”
When we first meet Schreiber’s Lipa in the trailer, he’s chasing Hank through the streets of the city and gets into a particularly vicious brawl with a cyclist. But later, Schreiber and D’Onofrio (“Daredevil,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”) invite Hank over for a meal (“I don’t suppose you’re Jewish, are you?” Schreiber asks Hank on the way) and offer him a kippah to wear.
And then there’s Carol Kane, playing a concerned Jewish mother who serves up that meal. She feeds Hank her matzah ball soup and urges the skinny boy to eat up.
Kane has been playing truly incredible — and yes, badass — Jewish roles lately, from a free-spirited woman who falls for the cantor who is preparing her for her adult bat mitzvah in “Between the Temples” to a Nazi fighting survivor in Prime Video’s “Hunters,” to a leopard print donning bubbe in Amazon Freevee’s “Dinner With the Parents.” It’s always such a comforting pleasure (quite like that bowl of matzah ball soup!) to watch the “Hester Street” star lean into her Jewish roots on screen.
Schreiber and D’Onofrio are really hilarious together at the dinner table, with the latter loudly slurping soup and the former urging Hank to eat and not get in trouble with the lady of the house. Kane hums appreciatively as Butler slurps on that Jewish penicillin and Schreiber shares his approval. It’s probably the most enjoyable moment of the whole trailer.
And if that’s not enough Jewish representation for you, self-proclaimed “Black Jewish queen” Zoë Kravitz plays Hank’s EMT love interest in the movie.
“Caught Stealing”‘ seems to embody a spirit of fun that one really doesn’t expect from an Aronofsky movie. They usually focus on incredibly weighty subjects matters and are often hard — though visually and cerebrally rewarding — to watch. But this movie just looks like a really entertaining and enjoyable journey.
And it is really delightful to see Hasidic Jewish characters embody that fun — and badass — spirit.
“Caught Stealing” is out in theaters on Aug. 29.
