Unless you’re at a film festival, the first two months of the year are often pretty dead in terms of new movie releases.
Thankfully, director Bart Layton has given the season some life.
“Crime 101” is a star-studded LA crime drama following professional thief Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth) trying to outwit and evade police, led by washed-up Detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo).
The film is clearly built off of, and inspired by, the classic films from the genre. The cat-and-mouse tension feels ripped straight out of Michael Mann’s 1995 classic crime saga “Heat,” while Ruffalo’s turn as an in-over-his-head detective is eerily reminiscent of his character in David Fincher’s criminally underrated “Zodiac.”
But just because a story adheres to what’s worked before doesn’t mean it isn’t great.
“Crime 101” is an apt title, because it seems to come straight from the textbook of the genre’s conventions. It has a big heist that will give our protagonist “walk-away money.” It has personal developments that get in the way of the characters’ professional lives. It has a strangely large amount of yoga.
Y’know, textbook crime drama stuff.
The movie’s title actually references US Route 101, which runs through California and is where Davis commits most of his crimes. As Lubesnick pieces this together, more parties begin to enter the playing field, until trying to track down one career criminal involves untangling a web of Los Angeles elites.
The leads are expertly placed. Hemsworth balances awkwardness and confidence, despite the occasional inconsistent characterization on the screenplay side of things. Ruffalo encounters no such burden from the script, stealing nearly every scene he’s in with a subtle, captivating performance.
They’re accented by Barry Keoghan and Halle Berry, who give perfectly placed performances as an energetic, reckless criminal and a desperate but more than capable saleswoman, respectively.
Bart Layton’s direction doesn’t jump off the screen, but it’s not particularly boring. It’s perfectly serviceable in action scenes, while getting more time to shine in the slower moments of the film. It does lack a certain momentum that the aforementioned Mann and Fincher have, but it’s very difficult to compare to two of the best directors of the past 40 years.
Perhaps this movie’s strongest aspect is the editing. Very few movies flow as seamlessly from one scene to another as this one does. There are some genuinely outrageous transitions in the film. Whatever momentum is lost in the direction is made up for by the brilliant work of editors Julian Hart and Jacob Schulsinger, and for a slick crime drama like this, it fits right in.
“Crime 101” isn’t a mindblowing film. It’s a relatively formulaic movie that’s derivative of the greats that came before it without breaking much new ground.
Fortunately, it’s a formula that works very well.
If you want the genre at its best, go watch “Heat.” If you want a more comprehensive character study of both the city of Los Angeles and the people within it, go watch “Training Day.”
But if you’re looking for a good movie at a time when that can be hard to come by in a theater, “Crime 101” is the film for you.
