Anything with Mark Ruffalo in it is worth seeing and CRIME 101 is no exception.
A little bit Bullit, a tincture of The Thomas Crown Affair, CRIME 101 is a less than subtle homage to two Steve McQueen classics, shoving Chris Hemsworth into the shoes of that legendary star, playing a mysterious Mike, a fast driving jewel thief with a penchant for Mustangs and high yield robbery.
His adversary is the dogged detective played by Mark Ruffalo, a crumpled principled cop who seems to the only one to decipher a pattern to the robber and his non violent heists. Think a contemporary Colombo in this beautifully rendered portrayal.
Into both men’s orbit comes Halle Berry’s insurance executive, a crazy coincidence that makes for a cozy plot point.
Also careening into their respective lives is a psych motorcyclist played by Barry Keoghan. His scenes of unhinged, powder keg malevolence are among the film’s most chilling, never knowing the outcome of his dangerous derangement.
These four top liners give veracity, volume and confidence to their characters and the narrative they navigate.
Also of note is Monica Barbaro, impressive as Maya, Mike’s seemingly coincidental love interest valiantly trying to chip away at his emotional armour, a carapace concealing a buried past.
Cameos from Nick Nolte as a crime boss and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Ruffalo’s character’s disenchanted wife are also notable additives to this myriad piece production.
Written and directed by Bart Layton and based on a novella by Don Winslow, CRIME 101 is in some ways a caper played by the numbers but there is a rich subtext concerning mitigating circumstances regarding moral behaviour, the ethics of institutions both public and private, and the thin line and widening gap between prosperity and poverty.
With crooked cops, unscrupulous insurance companies, honourable and less than honourable thieves, CRIME 101 is an intricately plotted crime caper, fast paced with characters finely etched and whose conundrums draw empathy and care.
