by Cain Noble-Davies
Worth: $1.6.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, Nick Nolte, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro
Intro:
… a solid crime epic …
Despite the implication of the title, this film is not an introductory lesson in criminology; it refers to lead crim Mike’s (Chris Hemsworth) spree of jewel heists along Los Angeles’ Highway 101. But if there were to be a cinematic coursebook on the criminal mind, writer/director Bart Layton would be better qualified than most in his field to present it.
Layton’s particular brand of incisive docudrama on the big and small screens has shone light on many a stranger-than-fiction crime yarn, and along with delving into the hows and whys of such enterprises, he also regularly looks at how much crime as presented in mass media often blurs the truth of the events, and in turn, can give unrealistic ideas of what this life really entails.
While his latest feature finds him in familiar territory thematically, it is quite different stylistically. Adapted not from the headlines but from a novella by Savages’ Don Winslow, there’s no real-world interview footage or toying with unreliable narrators here. It looks and sounds much closer to a Michael Mann pastiche, with a narrative sprawl to match, as it focuses not just on Mike, but also Det. Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) trying to catch him in the act, and insurance broker Sharon (Halle Berry), who also gets roped into the cat-and-mouse game.
In sticking to pure formalism, Layton provides his slickest production so far. Erik Wilson’s cinematography patiently shadows the three central characters and their respective methodical approaches to their work, while Jacob Secher Schulsinger and Julian Hart’s editing cleanly aligns their story threads so that, once they start to properly intertwine, it progresses with a smoothness that makes the 2+ hour run time feel warranted and remarkably watchable.
Of course, mapping the trajectories of the characters is a straight-forward endeavour at the base, as Mike, Lubesnick, and Sharon are essentially following the same path. Mike is akin to Ryan Gosling in Drive in his detachment but proficiency to the work, but his Roofman-esque hesitance towards violence puts him at odds not just with his employer (Nick Nolte’s Money… no, seriously, that’s the credited name), but also his competition (Barry Keoghan in one of his more intimidating turns as Ormon). Meanwhile, Lubesnick is running ragged trying to catch him, not interested in bricklaying for the blue wall of silence like his colleagues and higher-ups… firmly suggest, let’s say. And Sharon, as an older woman working in a male-centric environment, is led around by a carrot-sized promotion that her bosses aren’t exactly in a rush to deliver on.
Between the three of them, they cover a spectrum that is presented publicly as a means of keeping the masses safe, but ultimately only serves those within a certain tax bracket. The rich shuffle precious stones like playing cards, the poor sometimes try to reach for what they were denied, the law sticks to the letter rather than the spirit and ends up letting the gap widen further, and the insurers make sure that damage is limited and everyone stays in their opposing economic zones. It’s a rigged game, no matter what colour your pieces are. And despite their varying places on the board, they are all in a struggle between their inner natures, and the demands of the hands above.
While the film’s eventual treatise on all of this ends up feeling a bit too Hollywood (and we’re not even getting into the disparity between how the men are characterised and realised compared to the women, with Monica Barbaro’s Maya and even Sharon ending up with table scraps), the way Layton lays it all out is still highly interesting. Its detailing of the prep work behind the heists is nicely handled, the gradual polarity shifts for the core trio from finessed to fraught and vice versa shows plentiful and gratifying narrative movement, and as recognisable as its influences are, the action beats are finely-tuned and exciting. If you’re going to steal from the best, at least get your money’s worth from it.
Crime 101 is a solid crime epic, even if it doesn’t possess all the answers for the questions it posits. Revolving around Hemsworth, Ruffalo, and Berry’s terrific performances, the film’s examination of the social and logistical mechanisms behind crime is both stylish and well-thought out, bringing an entertaining but (mostly) grounded polish to every shade of grey within.
