Bart Layton’s “Crime 101” is a “Heat” pastiche that, even if it falls well shy of its Michael Mann blueprint, has some basic appeal going for it. Los Angeles crime movies are fun. Chris Hemsworth looks good in a suit. And we’re all suckers for savvy criminals with good escape routes.
Just as Robert De Niro’s Neil McCauley strategized along L.A.‘s asphalt arteries in “Heat,” Mike Davis (Hemsworth) works exclusively up and down the 101 freeway. Near its exit ramps, he hits high-value targets with insider information. He works stealthily and alone, slipping out of surveillance camera sight in time to stash his window-tinted car in a garage.
And like McCauley in “Heat,” there’s a detective on his trail. Detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) has deduced a pattern in Mike’s heists. Not many in the department, though, have much interest in his theories. His boss is pushing clearance rates, and his partner (Corey Hawkins) is beginning to realize Lou may be detrimental to his career ambitions.
If any of this sounds like familiar territory, there’s more. Mike also has a budding romance with a woman (a vibrant Monica Barbaro) who doesn’t know his profession. Lurking on the outside is a dangerously reckless thief (a typically scuzzy Barry Keoghan) who doesn’t have Davis’ panache. Oh, and Mike tells his sole contact (Nick Nolte) he’ll do just one more job and then he’s gone for good.
So, yes, “Crime 101” can feel a little like an introductory course to the heist movie. But those making out their syllabi would be better sticking with the OG standbys (“The Asphalt Jungle,” “Rififi”) and the more muscular modern classics (“Heat,” “Inside Man,” “Logan Lucky”) than this stylish but hollow iteration.
“Crime 101,” adapted by Layton from Don Winslow’s novella, isn’t trying to recreate the heist-movie wheel. It’s a solid if trope-heavy throwback that leans into genre clichés with an expansive, character-first approach. But even with the aid of a good ensemble cast, “Crime 101” ends up lacking in both depth of character and set-piece spectacle, leaving it stuck in the middle of the road.
In both documentaries (“The Impostor,” “The Deepest Breath”) and fiction films (“American Animals”), Layton has evidenced an abiding fondness for the heist movie. His passion for the genre is self-evident from the start in “Crime 101,” just as is the benefit of cinematographer Erik Wilson, who gives the movie a cool sheen. In the opening credits, as Mike dresses for a job, he brushes off dead skin and the particles float softly in the morning light like falling snow.
But “Crime 101” also has a Big Theme to announce at the start. Over the opening montage a disembodied voice over sounds with the encouragement that all is attainable: “Today is a beautiful day of opportunity.” As “Crime 101” proceeds, all of its central characters are in some way wrestling with their need, or desire, for more.
Some characters illustrate this unsubtle and repetitive point better than others. While Hemsworth’s Mike is smooth and compelling when the action starts, the character is preposterously thinly sketched. A former foster kid raised to steal, he lives hermit-like in Malibu. This, too, mirrors De Niro’s McCauley; presumably attachment-adverse thieves all share the same real-estate agent.
But “Crime 101” has a few more captivating supporting characters. Halle Berry plays Sharon, an insurance broker with a Rolodex of wealthy clients who mixes into the unfolding drama. Her on-theme characteristic is that the chauvinistic leaders of her company keep dangling a partnership that never comes. But Berry imbues Sharon with enough personality and verve to make you wonder why she wasn’t the main character.
Ruffalo also predictably elevates the material. His detective is a rumpled heap of midlife trouble, with a divorce getting underway. Again, this is far from an uncommon type, but Ruffalo’s natural sensitivity warms the character into three dimensionality.
With Mike fixed on a big score, all of these characters are ultimately forced to reckon with their proximity to millions, and make a choice. That things end up ultimately with someone donning a hotel worker uniform — one more time: like McCauley — extends the “Heat” parallels to an almost comical degree. “Crime 101” is the rare film to make you wonder: Can a movie cosplay another movie? The real heist of “Crime 101” is an old one: If you’re going to steal, steal from the best.
“Crime 101,” an Amazon MGM release is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for language throughout, some violence and sexual material/nudity. Running time: 140 minutes. Two stars out of four.
