Crime 101

Crime pays in this throwback thriller made for and by adults.

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Documentarian-turned-feature filmmaker Bart Layton hasn’t made a lot of movies, but the ones he’s made (2012 documentary “The Imposter” and 2018’s “American Animals”) are good and appear to be preoccupied with crime and identity. His latest “Crime 101” (in theaters beginning Friday, Feb. 13) is no exception.

Chris Hemsworth stars as career criminal James Davis (no, not Hoosier “Garfield” cartoonist Jim Davis), who performs high-value, non-violent robberies up and down Los Angeles’ US Highway 101. Aiding Davis in his felonious pursuits are youthful hacker Devon (Devon Bostick) and aged fence Money (Nick Nolte), but Money’s concerned Davis has lost his edge and has commissioned his deceased colleague’s kid Ormon (Barry Keoghan, bleached blonde and memorably introduced to the beats of Run the Jewels) to snake jobs from out underneath him.

Hangdog Los Angeles detective Lou (Mark Ruffalo) is stuck in a rut. His wife Angie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) has been cheating on and is now planning on leaving him. He’s had opportunities to advance his career, but has willfully avoided them in favor of doing the right thing. His Captain (Matthew Del Negro) doesn’t care so much about getting the right guy so long as they get a guy and tells Lou’s partner Tillman (Corey Hawkins) that he’s holding him back. Lou has theories about Davis’ criminal activities and patterns, but no one cares to listen or take them seriously.

Sharon Coombs (Halle Berry) is a 53-year-old insurance broker who’s been passed over for promotion after promotion by her jerk of a boss Mark (Paul Adelstein). Her firm handled insurance on the stones stolen in Davis’ last score, which brings her into contact with an investigating Lou. Davis also reaches out to Sharon thinking she may just be disillusioned enough to take part in his final score.

Complicating matters further - Davis has just entered into a relationship with a publicist’s assistant named Maya (Monica Barbaro). He has a ton of baggage and generally doesn’t open up to others, but he wants to for her.

Layton slickly and confidently directs and adapts crime author Don Winslow’s novella. He’s taking pages from classics such as William Friedkin’s “To Live and Die in L.A.” and Michael Mann’s “Heat” while also tipping his hat to two memorable Steve McQueen movies from 1968 - these being “Bullitt” and “The Thomas Crown Affair.” To Layton’s credit, he’s also taking these tropes and making them his own. There’s an awesome car-motorbike chase and the all-star cast is uniformly excellent. Layton takes his time in telling this tale luxuriating in the details, building tension and really letting his audience get to know these characters. He also concludes his picture in a manner that’s surprisingly upbeat for this genre.

“Crime 101” is a throwback thriller made for and by adults that we don’t get real often these days. It’d be a crime to miss it.