Crime 101

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Crime 101 is a crime thriller adapted from a Don Winslow novella of the same name. The film follows Davis, a skilled thief who has been conducting a string of robberies just off the 101 motorway. As he gears up for his biggest score yet, the police officer and rival thief hounding him are drawing closer.

I have always had a soft spot for heist films, and I wondered if I would feel the same way while watching this one. But though there are heists in this film, this is more of a 'cat and mouse' story. The whole thing pivoting around Davis running his cons and staying ahead of those after him by a hair is one of the most satisfying elements of the film. Lou, the detective after Davis, is having his entire life blow up while hounding this criminal, but this laser focus also becomes a noose slowly slipping around Davis' neck. I also liked the chaotic energy that came from Money sending Ormon, a young legacy thief, after Davis. These parties circling one another created some tense moments and left you wondering how that final job against Monroe was going to play out. In a lot of ways, Crime 101 is a film that pays tribute to old films of the honourable outlaw versus the honourable officer of the law.

If Crime 101 has a strength, it is just how impressive the cinematography looks. This is a very dynamic-looking film, with an intense neo-noir style. Every character is scrutinised with intensive close-ups, LA is captured like a timeless Metropolis, and car chases inject high octane adrenaline into the lens.

Halle Berry, who played Sharon, is quite a calculating numbers savant here; Berry's character is more grounded than others and building towards an explosive decision is a great piece of softer acting from Berry. Tate Donovan, who played Monroe, is that type of arrogant, rich mogul you decidedly hate; the way Donovan played to the ego of this character, even when he had a gun to his head, is great. Barry Keoghan, who played Ormon, is a captivating, unhinged antagonist; he has a frenzied need to prove himself by all means necessary. Matthew Del Negro, who played Police Captain Stewart, is a real bureaucratic point of corruption; Del Negro has a toxic energy to this character that makes him a good adversary for Ruffalo.

However, the best performance came from Mark Ruffalo, who played Lou. Lou seems a very disgruntled type of police detective protagonist. He is living in a cramped apartment with his wife, their marriage falls apart throughout the film, and his car is a piece of shit. Ruffalo still has a real water off a duck's back outlook around all this; he has a grouchy edge but remains laser-focused on his casework. Lou is like a dog with a bone around the Davis case; his police department is slowly isolating him, and yet he won't let the 101 robber go. The moment his job and his marriage implode, we get a new take on Lou. Ruffalo brings a stillness, a calmness to the character. He brings what he has always chased to a head in a very measured way, holding the fate of all that has transpired in the palm of his hand. Lou's euphoria by the end of the film seems rather earned; he is the honourable officer of the law.

Crime 101 is a rather desolate film, so sprawling and vast with a lot of emptiness there. And if I were just talking about the setting, this would be a perfect modern film noir story. But that's not Crime 101. From the moment multiple leading roles are introduced, it becomes clear that Crime 101 is a branching story with many perspectives guiding the story. The issue with this is that a slow-paced film passing the ball like that really has to have an incredible sense of structure. This film doesn't have that; if anything, this is a film that would have been better served as a limited series. There is a lot of empty space between narrative-forward scenes, which hurt the pacing tremendously. It is also clear that while the robberies are interesting, Davis is not. As a protagonist, Davis's 'Robin Hood' schtick is poorly explored, as is his relationship and background with Money, his ally in the criminal world. Davis jitters and shows signs of neurodiversity, but the creatives clearly don't know what they're doing here beyond vaguely saying Davis isn't your typical criminal. There's even a strange romance sub-plot for Davis that feels a little too fairytale and easy-going to work. The truth of Crime 101 is that it has a decent cast, but the writing rarely cracks open these characters and lets me see who they are as an audience member.

The editing can be disjointed at times and create an inconsistent flow, resulting in a pace that stretches out or even becomes a bit scattered to watch. There are moments of interest in the score, but the majority of this is just a long, warbling drone. The soundtrack is also a mismatch of tracks that don't really bring a lot of character to the piece, ranging from Run the Jewels to Bryan Adams.

Chris Hemsworth, who played Davis, really gives one of his worst leading performances in a long time; I had no idea whether he was playing autism or OCD, and it is his worst American accent in some time. Corey Hawkins, who played Tillman, is quite a bland police partner character across from Ruffalo; Hawkins becomes almost forgettable the second the film phases his role out. Nick Nolte, who played Money, is such a prolific actor who is struggling to still perform well; I say this because Nolte's line delivery as Money is almost indecipherable. Monica Barbaro, who played Maya, is a bit of a dull fantasy girlfriend role; Barbaro is really just here to dangle a happy ending outcome in front of Hemsworth's role.

Incredibly scattered crime film with a weak lead in Chris Hemsworth. I would give Crime 101 a 5.5/10.