“Crime 101,” directed by Bart Layton, is a slow-burn crime film centered around the criminals and investigators of a chain of jewelry store robberies committed along U.S. Route 101 in California.
Mike (Chris Hemsworth) is hired to commit high-stakes jewelry theft across different couriers in Los Angeles. He has a history of success in doing so while also having a strict no-violence code for himself. He’s meticulous in his work, leaving no trace.
After a robbery gone wrong, nearly leading Mike to his death, he attempts to leave the life of crime behind him, prompting his criminal underworld boss, “Money” (Nick Nolte), to bring a young, violent and feral criminal, Ormon (Barry Keoghan), into the mix.
Mike is interesting enough. It’s clear that there’s much to him hidden underneath the surface. If you were to dig under it, you’d find a lot to love, but nobody in his life has done so, and the film doesn’t quite get there either. Maybe it’s nuanced?
He does have a love interest in Maya (Monica Barbaro), who he meets after a fender bender and exchanges numbers. Barbaro was a highlight of 2024’s “A Complete Unknown,” just as she’s a highlight of this flick. She’s sweet. But more importantly, she opens Mike up.
We see Mike more vulnerable, and we learn a bit about him as well. As an audience, we start to connect with him. This was the reason for Maya’s character, yet by the end, there were about three fewer questions to be asked about Mike than there were to start with.
A great addition to the film was Ormon, who upped the pace of the film for every scene he’s in. His shtick is that he drives a motorcycle, a drifter type. He also has bleached hair, so maybe that’s his shtick as well.
But more than the bleached hair and the motorcycle, Ormon is completely off the rails. As stated before, the film is a slow burn. Many of the antagonists are stuck in the same system as our protagonist, just with a higher pay grade and a nasty view on life. They serve their purpose but are dull.
You also don’t necessarily hate them; nothing they do truly strikes a nerve. Ormon, on the other hand, has a couple offenses that’ll make you immediately root against him for the entirety of the film. Keoghan just brings an unpredictable nature to him.
He’s violent. He’s sporadic. He’s everything that Mike isn’t.
Investigating the Route 101 robberies is Detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo), who has just gotten out of a relationship with his partner and is looking for purpose in life. He’s put on the 101 case, and immediately, there’s a light in his life.
He is well-rounded, but his investigation of Mike’s crimes never pushes the intensity. There’s not much question of whether our two protagonists will clash. The investigation itself has moments of thrill, but the investigation’s details feel intangible, and eventually, it just wraps up very unthematically.
As a character drama, “Crime 101” succeeds in setting the tone of the characters. We understand how they are, but we never truly learn who they are.
Well-placed chase sequences, shot by director of photography Erik Wilson, keep our adrenaline boosted throughout the runtime. Looming shots of the bustling city of Los Angeles create an atmosphere that almost makes the film worth seeing for that reason alone.
In fact, if you’re a Kirkwood student who loves a good chase sequence, “Crime 101” is a great choice for a Friday night flick.
Categories: Art & Life
