In Crime 101, the structuring of the movie is such that it does not look to surprise you with the precision and style of the main character, who is a jewel thief. The pattern this guy chooses has a reason, and that actually gives you an idea about the softer and more vulnerable side of that character. While the movie keeps us interested as we are curious to know how it will place the characters, the familiar traits in the story are pushing it more towards a usual heist thriller with personal tracks of characters that aren’t that surprising. Seeing things from a panicking hero gives the film a certain level of freshness. However, Bart Layton’s movie is going on a predictable trajectory.
Mike is a jewel thief whose modus operandi is snatching the jewels when they are transported. And he also chooses locations near the US Highway 101 so that he can escape without causing any casualties. This no-casualty, quick-robbery plan of Mike faced a challenge when something slightly went wrong in one of his thefts. A panicked Mike had to make some tough calls, and what we see in Crime 101 are the consequences of that.
Layton, who wrote this movie, is trying to make it more about the multiple characters in this story. Everyone here is a victim. Mike is someone who has seen the darker side of poverty. The detective who managed to crack Mike’s pattern is always getting dismissed in his department, and the insurance broker Sharon is facing sexist treatment in her workspace. When you look at the climax portions of the movie, it is kind of trying to find a silver lining in a tragedy. And the forgiveness act in that area depends heavily on us rooting for the hero as if we have known him for years. Where the movie struggles is in creating that relationship with the characters.
The movie plays around with the subdued sadness that is there beneath the seemingly flashy lifestyle of people who are alone. Crime 101 wants to tap into that area, and the movie creates subplots for each character that show us how life has been unkind to them. However, the writing of these subplots makes use of familiar tropes. Maya bumping into Mike feels like a forced romantic track; the scene that leads to Detective Lou Lubesnick’s suspension has this obvious intention of making him do the investigation in private. The gender based sidelining Sharon faces also has an arc that you can sort of see from a distance. Because of this usualness in their stories, even though you feel bad for them, you do not feel a sense of emotional relief at the end of the movie. The cinematography assigns a different style to each character, and there is the use of a door-mounted camera setup to emphasize the panic of the hero.
Chris Hemsworth, as the main man Mike, is doing a role where we are seeing less of the swagger stuff. Almost from the beginning, we are seeing how careful and tense he is before each mission. The writing doesn’t want to give us many details about this character, and the effort is to give those details through the silences of this character and the readings of others about him. Chris has that composure in the way he carries himself to have that element of mystery, along with suppressed grief. Mark Ruffalo, as the slightly grumpy detective, was effective in a role that sort of approaches the whole detective thing in a grounded way. In certain areas, his expressions and persistence sort of reminded me of his role in Zodiac. Halle Berry, as the frustrated insurance agent, gets to play an important role that demands her grace to a good extent. Monica Barbaro gets a typical love interest character with hardly anything to do here. Barry Keoghan gets to play the role of this aggressive youngster, and he was convincing.
The character-driven approach to a heist idea is definitely making us interested in how they will land this movie. While the developments are keeping us engaged in the film, after a certain point, the writing starts to borrow from all the existing templates. I thought a bit more emphasis on getting to know characters would have given the emotional settlement that happens in the end a little more depth. On the whole, Crime 101 is a watchable movie with familiar components and a slightly different approach.
