Crime 101’s Los Angeles is one of contrasts. From the gorgeous, slowly turning opening shot of the city at night, we see a world of white billionaires collecting art by people of color merely for its skyrocketing value, contrasted with the working class of immigrants and old-school criminals.
Halle Berry’s character, Sharon, lands somewhere in between. She’s an insurance broker for the filthy rich whose loyalty to her company is never rewarded with the long-promised partnership. Her ambition is ultimately dismissed by a male partner who looks at her witheringly and just says, “Fifty-three.” Oh, man… Sharon’s look of incredulity, mixed with an unleashed burning fire in her core, is totally relatable.
Meanwhile, schlubby old-school detective Lou (rumpled Mark Ruffalo) is doing his job, trying to wrap his head around a series of jewel heists just off Highway 101 (hence the title of the film). But his profession is changing. Even his cop partner is a bit embarrassed by him, despite admiring Lou’s experience. Lou’s investigation methods seem to be no longer fashionable (the department just wants those open “red” cases closed to a “black” dot on the spreadsheet). Just like his career, his home life isn’t what it used to be (Jennifer Jason Leigh has a couple of great scenes as his wife, kicking Lou to the curb).
But it all centers around one thief: the impossibly handsome Mike (Chris Hemsworth), who, armed with insider knowledge, is somehow able to intercept high-end deliveries. Like both Sharon and Lou, Mike seems to be headed toward the end of his profession. He is tired, and his emotionally crippling past has made it difficult to forge any sort of relationship (Monica Barbaro, always welcome, plays a woman trying to crack his shell). As Mike tries to back away from his handler (Nick Nolte), the threat of another thief (Barry Keoghan), a volatile live-wire, becomes very real.
Stacked with Oscar nominees and winners down to even the small roles, Crime 101 can’t help but be engaging.
It’s nice to see Hemsworth proving he’s more than brawn, shifting seamlessly from polished charm to achingly broken. Ruffalo grounds the film with a lived-in performance that avoids cliché. Berry delivers one of her strongest roles in years, capturing the frustration of a woman in her prime dismissed as expendable. And Keoghan, though used sparingly, leaves a chilling impression as a next-gen criminal who trades any lingering code of honor for a quick, lucrative hit.
Crime 101‘s LA cops-and-robbers theme clearly owes more than a nod to Michael Mann’s classic Heat. Three intersecting lives have stalled at professional dead ends, so they all have to make a choice. Do you stay loyal to the boss that finds you disposable? Or do you choose the house on the beach? We may never be so lucky to have that kind of choice, but there is something so old-fashioned and satisfying about a heist thriller where everyone gets their just desserts.
