Love, Crime, and One Seriously Unlucky Cat

Step aside, ordinary thrillers — Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing is rewriting the rules with a wild blend of gritty suspense and irresistible romance. And at the heart of it all? Zoë Kravitz, turning up the heat as Yvonne, a tough-yet-tender EMT caught in a maelstrom of violence, love, and mystery.

Now showing in Philippine cinemas, this crime drama is anything but predictable.

Kravitz & Butler = Instant On-Screen Spark

According to director Darren Aronofsky, the real engine behind Caught Stealing is the blazing chemistry between Zoë Kravitz and Austin Butler, who plays Hank Thompson, a down-on-his-luck ex-baseball player pulled into a criminal nightmare.

“They have a very exciting passionate love affair that feels like it’s about to get to a more serious place.” 

Indeed, there’s an undeniable magnetism between Kravitz and Butler — their on-screen connection pulses with heat and authenticity, grounding the high-stakes action with emotional grit.

Meet Yvonne: EMT by Day, Hank’s Lifeline by Night

Kravitz’s Yvonne isn’t just a love interest — she’s the emotional anchor in a story that could’ve easily spiraled into pure chaos. Grounded yet complex, Yvonne is someone who deeply cares, even when the world around her starts to burn.

“Yvonne’s an empathetic person,” Kravitz says. “I think she likes to take care of people, including Hank. She doesn’t do the best job, but she tries.”

That humanity is what elevates Yvonne from being just a sidekick. She’s a flawed, fascinating, and fiercely loyal survivor — and Kravitz plays her with nuance and fire.

Watch the Trailer Here:

From Cat-Sitting to Complete Mayhem

So how does a romance between a former ballplayer and an EMT morph into a full-blown cat-and-mouse chase with gangsters? It all begins when Hank’s shady neighbor Russ (played with eerie charm by Matt Smith) asks him to watch his cat. A simple favor — until everything unravels.

Before long, Hank and Yvonne are neck-deep in NYC’s criminal underworld, running for their lives and trying to figure out why dangerous people want Hank dead.

A Cast That Packs a Punch

Besides the dynamic duo of Kravitz and Butler, Caught Stealing boasts a powerhouse cast including Matt Smith and the ever-commanding Regina King. And the brains behind the screenplay? None other than Charlie Huston, adapting his own cult-favorite novel.

“I wrote this book decades ago, and now I’m making a movie with Darren Aronofsky and Austin Butler and Matt Smith and Regina King and Zoë Kravitz,” they say. “It’s so amazing. Darren and I were both living in the East Village in the 90s, and our paths must have crossed at some point. When I first moved to New York, I was couch-surfing and living next door to where he was living at the time, so part of the joy of this project is just the shared lived experience and authenticity of that. To be able to look back and revisit that period of our lives is just fun.”

The film’s gritty tone is steeped in personal nostalgia. Both Huston and Aronofsky once lived in New York’s East Village during the ’90s, and that raw, lived-in energy pulses through every frame of the film.

Now Showing: A Must-See Ride of Love and Survival

With its genre-bending thrills, simmering romance, and unforgettable performances, Caught Stealing is a cinematic adrenaline shot — and Zoë Kravitz is its beating heart.

Now showing in cinemas across the Philippines. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

Grab your tickets, bring your heart rate monitors, and prepare for a thriller that doesn’t let go.