Caught Stealing

In 1998, Hank Thompson tends bar on the Lower East Side, where his girlfriend Yvonne works as a paramedic, and he often phones his mother in Patterson, California to reminisce about their beloved San Francisco Giants. A former high school star in baseball, Hank is haunted by the car crash that killed his friend Dale and left him with a career-ending knee injury that still weighs on him.

When Hank’s neighbor Russ returns to London to see his ailing father, Hank is left to look after his cat, Bud. A brutal assault by Russian mobsters, Aleksei and Pavel, upends his quiet life and costs Hank a kidney. The intruders break into Russ’s apartment, and narcotics detective Roman interrogates Hank, revealing that Russ is a drug dealer tied to the dangerous Drucker brothers, Lipa and Shmully Drucker. The fragile web of loyalty and crime tightens as Hank learns there’s a hidden key concealed in Bud’s litter box, a clue that could unwind a much larger conspiracy. When Hank alerts Roman about the key, the Druckers soon sweep through Russ’s place, escalating the danger.

A night of drinking leads Hank to Paul’s Bar, where his clothes are left outside his building. He’s interrogated by the Russians and their associate Colorado, and, in a tense turn of events, struggles to recall what happened to the key. The danger intensifies as Hank realizes Yvonne’s life is in jeopardy, and he races back to her apartment, only to find she has been shot in the head. The weight of guilt presses down on him as he confides in Roman, who is contemplating retirement to Tulum and quietly complicit in the escalating corruption around them.

Colorado and the Russians, aligned with a corrupt Roman, insist they aren’t responsible for Yvonne’s murder, and Hank becomes a prime target. He is brought to Paul’s, where Colorado executes a bar regular, and Roman shoots him in the head before he can finish the job. In the ensuing chaos, Paul grabs a shotgun, but is killed, and Hank is forced to shelter in the strongroom. The others depart empty-handed, leaving Hank to regroup.

Hank recovers the key from the homeless Jason, who had it hidden with his clothes. Russ returns home but is struck on the head when Hank mistakes him for an intruder. Russ explains that after selling drugs for the Druckers in Colorado’s nightclubs, he was coerced into involving Roman, who in turn owes money to their boss. The key unlocks a storage unit containing just over $4 million that was meant to be split among the many players before Russ left for London. Fearing for his life, Russ tries to take the money and frame Hank, who knocks him unconscious.

The two of them, along with Bud, meet at Flushing Meadows to settle the score. Hank offers Russ and the key in exchange for Bud, and Russ panics, killing Aleksei with Pavel’s gun before fleeing with Hank and Bud, insinuating that Roman killed Yvonne. They escape through a crowds at Shea Stadium and onto the subway, where a severely concussed Russ succumbs to his injuries, leaving Hank to carry Bud toward a new future.

Back on the beach, Hank receives a call from Roman, who has framed him for the string of murders and is threatening his mother, demanding that he deliver the key to the Druckers’ supper club. Hank warns his mother and finally surrenders himself to the Druckers. They insist on killing Roman in exchange for Hank guiding them to the money, first bringing him to their mother’s Shabbos dinner. Forced to drive for the first time since his crash, Hank is cuffed to the van while the heavily armed brothers storm the club.

A tense chase unfolds as Hank spots Roman, uses a car lighter to burn free, and takes up a bat to pursue his enemies. He defeats Pavel and disarms Roman, and the Druckers carry out a brutal act that helps seal Hank’s fate. In a final twist, Hank reveals that the key is hidden in the bandage on Bud’s leg, and the Druckers decide to spare him in exchange for a share of the money. But a devastating realization hits when Hank recognizes a lighter taken from Yvonne, confirming the Druckers murdered her. In a dramatic crash, the Druckers are killed as Hank witnesses their downfall.

With the immediate danger behind him, Hank and Bud slip away, and Hank decides to disappear with half of the money, while mailings the rest to his mother for safekeeping. He makes his way to Tulum, hoping to begin a new life away from the chaos that defined the last chapters of his old one, ready to leave behind the ghosts of the past and the harsh lessons learned in a world where loyalty, crime, and consequence intersect.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 10:23