‘Crime 101’ Knows How to Use ‘Heat’ to Bring Out the Flavor

Although Michael Mann’s classic 1995 film Heat features some exhilarating heists, it’s not a movie about heisting. Like other Mann movies, it’s about broken men trying to impose a sense of order on the world. In the case of Heat, the tragedy is that these men can only thrive in the chaos they create and must live out childish games of cops-and-robbers rather than settle into a domestic sphere. Writer-director Bart Layton understands that desperation is a driving force behind Heat and uses that to spur his exciting L.A. crime thriller, Crime 101. A slow-burn character drama set among high-stakes thefts, the film thrives not only in its chases and heists, but because it has the wherewithal to dig deeply into the character motivations and ask if its central figures are living by a code, or if they’re simply hiding within the safety of routine. While Crime 101 doesn’t reach the lofty heights of Heat, there’s nothing wrong with paying homage to one of the genre’s greats when it’s handled as well as it is here.

Davis (Chris Hemsworth) is a professional thief who never leaves behind a trace when he robs couriers along L.A.’s 101 freeway. Although he uses the threat of violence, he never harms anyone and knows how to make a clean getaway. For his next job, he sees an in with high-powered insurance broker Sharon (Halle Berry), who can get him info to plan his heist. For her part, Sharon never gets much sleep as she’s stuck in a job she hates, being strung along for a promotion that never arrives. Elsewhere, the detective on the case of the robberies, Lou (Mark Ruffalo), is as weary as they come. His marriage is falling apart, no one on the force respects him because he’s more concerned with getting the right criminal rather than boosting his clearance rate, and they’re all annoyed with his theory that the string of robberies is being committed by one guy. These storylines intersect as Davis pushes towards his latest job while hiding his true nature from Maya (Monica Barbaro), a woman he’s started falling for.

Layton wisely makes Crime 101 a character drama first, and that’s essential when you have a methodical crime film here. Those expecting slam-bang thrills throughout may be disappointed, but I appreciated the patient, textured developments. You understand why this cast is stacked with Oscar nominees as well as an Oscar-winner in Berry because even though you’ve got Hemsworth in the lead, the film is more concerned with the conversations than dazzling set pieces (although there are some muscular car chases at various points). As for Hemsworth, Crime 101 is a potent reminder that he’s an underrated acting talent, and far more than his muscular physique. Playing Davis, Hemsworth recedes into himself, the character's true insecurities coming to the surface when he’s around Maya and might have to be emotionally vulnerable. Crimes are the shield for Davis, where he gets to have control and play the debonair thief, but Hemsworth has the range to make us believe this hulking, handsome man is fearfully hanging onto a persona because he’s running from a darker past.

The surrounding cast is as reliable as we’ve come to expect. Ruffalo keeps finding new spins on tired cops, and there’s a fun arc here where Lou, following his instincts and staying true to his beliefs, is on a road of rejuvenation rather than alienation. Berry gets the exhilarating, dramatic notes that not enough movies allow her to hit, and one scene in particular had my audience cheering afterwards. Even the characters who are more one-dimensional, like Barry Keoghan’s wild-card criminal Ormon, are a blast to watch because he knows how to find exciting angles. Acclaimed veterans Nick Nolte and Jennifer Jason Leigh only show up for a few scenes, and they fit right in, not because it feels like they’re collecting a paycheck, but because this is a real movie with real characters. It’s an actor’s piece that happens to have heists.

That emphasis on a rich cast getting to give great performances within a heist film feels like the greatest nod Layton could make towards Heat outside of the L.A. setting. The biggest departure is that while Heat is ultimately bleak and tragic in how these men self-destruct, Layton moves towards a story of surprising redemption and growth. Some may bristle at this uplift, but Crime 101 earns the emotional payoff because it’s patient and thoughtful with what the characters want and how they get there. It’s a movie that’s acutely conscious of all the ways we try to enact self-care (Sharon has a sleep/meditation app, Lou tries out yoga), but the difficult growth will always come in confronting what’s making us unhappy. Everyone in the film is holding on so tight to what they thought they wanted that the big heist becomes a way of letting go, or at least reevaluating, their long-held beliefs.

Granted, that’s not as impactful as De Niro and Pacino sitting across from each other in a diner and telling the other that, with all due respect, I may have to kill you, but Crime 101 still makes for an emotionally fulfilling feature that doesn’t skimp on the excitement the genre provides. While these kinds of hard-boiled crime dramas are now more commonplace on television than they are in theaters, I’m glad that Layton shows why they still matter, how they can still entertain, and why it’s worth coming out to the theaters to watch movie stars do crimes.

Crime 101 opens in theaters on February 13th.