Crime 101

In an academic context, the phrase ‘101’ denotes the basics – an introductory college course covering only the fundamentals. Crime 101, the second feature from Bart Layton (previously behind 2018 art-heist tale American Animals), is therefore aptly titled. It is, yes, a crime movie, exploring the fallout of a series of diamond robberies committed on stops along the US-101 Pacific Coast Highway. But for all its slick presentation and star cast, Crime 101 struggles to go beyond the basics – dealing in tropes and archetypes you’ve seen countless times.

Based on Don Winslow’s novella of the same name, the multi-stranded narrative weaves around a cop-vs-crook cat-and-mouse core. The mouse is Chris Hemsworth’s Mike, a jewel thief with a moral code who goes about his jobs with such placid precision that the police aren’t onto him. That is except for the cat, Mark Ruffalo’s Lou – a schlubby detective whose hunch about the case is routinely ignored by his department. When Mike’s control slips on a job, his confidence takes a knock, with consequences that ripple outwards – not only giving Lou a new lead, but causing complications for Halle Berry’s insurance broker Sharon, herself looking for a way to elevate her station; meanwhile, violent biker Ormon (Barry Keoghan) takes over Mike’s territory with chaotic results.

Solidly enjoyable, and well-constructed.

What unfolds is solidly enjoyable, and well-constructed. Layton and cinematographer Erik Wilson capture L.A. with crisp digital photography, lending the whole thing an air of cool confidence. Two car chases, in which Layton puts pedal to the metal, deliver welcome adrenaline boosts amid the slightly overlong runtime. The core players all deliver too, proper movie stars in the kind of original grown-up thriller that comes along all too rarely. It’s particularly enjoyable to see Berry back in this kind of fare, as the character the audience can truly root for – overlooked by her misogynistic boss and prepared to take drastic action to get the kind of compensation she deserves.

It’s just that you’ve seen it all before. Anyone who watched HBO’s Task has literally seen Ruffalo play this hangdog cop archetype in the last year alone; Hemsworth is saddled with the thin role of a smooth criminal whose surface-perfect life – gasp! – has nothing real underneath it all. The film most comes alive when Keoghan revs in; but even this carnage-fuelled register is the actor’s comfort zone.

There’s not much wrong with what’s here, there’s just little to hold on to under that glossy surface. And if you’re not Heat, it’s easy to come off as tepid. Crime 101 is fine, but you’ll likely crave something more advanced.