A DANGEROUS
JOURNEY FROM CHAOS TO THE SUBCONSCIOUS
Caught
Stealing,
a film by the genius and Academy Award-nominated director Darren Aronofsky, is
an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Charlie Huston. It tells the
breathtaking survival story of Hank Thompson, a former baseball player who
suddenly finds himself in the middle of the criminal underworld on the dark
streets of 1990s New York. While the film is an "entertainment-focused",
"high-tempo crime thriller" that approaches the underworld
with a humorous and chaotic perspective, it does not mean it has completely
abandoned Aronofsky's signature existential and philosophical cinema. At first,
it brings to mind the crime caper subgenre pioneered by Guy Ritchie. However,
as one gets absorbed and dragged into the adventure, it becomes clear that
Aronofsky's work is far deeper and more layered. The story's constant twists
and its relentless pace are the greatest proof of this.
In this
film, we once again see all the symbols, images, and phenomena of
classic Aronofsky cinema, brilliantly interspersed through detailed and
striking visuals. The director's signature elements at the core of his cinema,
such as chaos, obsession, and the darker aspects of human
nature, find their significant place in this crime thriller. Aronofsky's
films are generally intense and unsettling experiences that visually
externalize the turmoil and obsessions within his characters' minds. Their main
theme is the pursuit of a destructive obsession. Caught Stealing can be
described as a return to the bold and bleak world of New York, similar
to the director's earlier masterpiece, Requiem for a Dream.
The film features a powerful cast including Austin Butler, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith,
Regina King, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D'Onofrio, Griffin Dunne, Bad Bunny, and
Carol Kane.
WELCOME TO
NARNIA
The films of
Darren Aronofsky, one of today's groundbreaking filmmakers, delve deep into the
minds of his characters, blurring the lines between reality and hallucination.
Aronofsky's genius in Caught Stealing comes from his ability to turn
even the most ordinary spaces into philosophical arenas.
THE TRUTH
HIDDEN IN A STORAGE UNIT: A PANDORA'S BOX
The turning
point of the film happens the moment Hank and Russ enter a rental storage unit.
Russ's whispered line, "Welcome to Narnia," immediately emphasizes
that this simple unit is actually a portal. It is not just a cellar where
stolen money is hidden, but also a reflection of the characters' suppressed
secrets and subconscious minds. Walking through the punk rock jackets
inside is like navigating a labyrinth; with every step, Hank feels he's getting
closer to the darkest and most morally dangerous corners of his own being. This
scene is a modern-day Pandora's Box moment. The money hidden inside is
not just a material value but, as the French philosopher Georges Bataille
describes in his philosophical masterpiece The Accursed Share (La
Part maudite), a cursed energy that will change Hank's life forever.
Furthermore,
this storage unit evokes the subconscious archetype in Jung's depth
psychology, while the issue of money in the film resonates with Arthur
Schopenhauer's philosophy of 'Will' (Wille) and Friedrich
Nietzsche's concept of 'Will to Power' (Wille zur Macht). For
Hank, money is not merely a material value; it transforms into a destructive
desire that shakes the very foundation of his existence—a blind will that is an
instrument of his struggle for survival.
ARONOFSKY’S
SIGNATURE: THE EXISTENTIAL QUEST IN THE CRIMINAL UNIVERSE
Darren Aronofsky's films are often regarded as a
visual externalization of his characters' destructive obsessions and internal
chaos. What sets his cinema apart is that he doesn't merely use the mental and
spiritual collapse of his characters as a narrative device. In Caught Stealing,
this signature is clearly visible. Although the film appears on the surface to
be a crime caper, at its core, it tells a story of an existential quest and
offers viewers an experience that invites them to discover how the director's
cinema conveys his familiar concepts of obsession and destruction.
Aronofsky turns Hank Thompson's chaotic chase for the
stolen money into a visual externalization of a man getting lost in his own
internal labyrinth. The master director skillfully uses his cinematographic tools
to reflect this internal chaos. New York's hazy and claustrophobic streets
function as a reflection of Hank's mental state. The camera, at the character's
shoulder height, moves quickly, pulling the audience into a cycle of panic and
paranoia with him. This visual language, much like the mathematical obsession
in Pi or the perfectionist fixation in Black Swan, projects the
destructive energy from the main character's inner world onto the screen.
NEW YORK AS
A CHAOTIC LABYRINTH
One of the film's most important plot points, or turning points, is that the money is not just a commodity or a material goal; it's an instrument that symbolizes Hank's deepest fears and desires, almost like an archetype emerging from Jung's collective unconscious. In this criminal universe, Aronofsky doesn't reveal the drama of a man chasing a pile of money, but rather a man questioning the meaning of his own existence, his destiny, and his destructive Will. The film makes the audience question their perception of reality, while at the same time forcing them to confront their own ontological obsessions and fears.
EFE TEKSOY
REFERENCES
- Bataille, G. (2017). The Accursed Share (La Part maudite).
(I. Ergüden, Trans.). Ayrıntı Yayınları.
- Jung, C. G. (2016). Two Essays on Analytical Psychology. (İ. H.
Yılmaz, Trans.). Pinhan Yayıncılık.
- Jung, C. G. (2003). Four Archetypes. (Z. A. Yılmazer, Trans.).
Metis Yayınları.
- Jung, C. G. (2016). Man and His Symbols. (H. M. İlgün, Trans.).
Kabalcı Yayınevi.
- Nietzsche, F. (2010). The Will to Power (Der Wille zur Macht).
(N. Epçeli, Trans.). Say Yayınları.
- Schopenhauer, A. (2020). The World as Will and Representation (Die
Welt als Wille und Vorstellung). (A. O. Aktaş, Trans.). Doğu Batı
Yayınları.
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