Crime 101

The 101 freeway is one of the beating hearts of California’s highway network, but for Davis (Chris Hemsworth), the road is something far more valuable. A cunning and fine-tuned jewel thief, he uses the freeway as the centre point for all his carefully chosen heists, but unbeknownst to him, Detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) has noticed a pattern and is on his tail. When Davis decides to commit one last robbery to start a new chapter in his life, his path crosses with insurance broker Sharon Colvin (Halle Berry), who also dreams of more than her current circumstances allow. By sharing intelligence, the characters come crashing together into one final showdown.

Adapted from Don Winslow’s 2021 novella of the same name, Crime 101 follows the common tropes of a classic noir adventure; an anti-hero, a police detective, a true evil villain and a femme fatale all combine into one boiling pot for a thrilling adventure. The film is blessed with a star-studded cast that brings these roles to life, with Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan and Monica Barbaro all playing pivotal characters in the plot’s construction and execution. Both Hemsworth and Ruffalo on screen means a reuniting of their Marvel characters, Thor and Hulk, but thankfully, that comparison never enters your mind as both actors are completely convincing in their performances.

Ruffalo stands out the most in a disgruntled detective role not too dissimilar to his performance in Zodiac and more recently in Dark Waters, but Berry also proves she is still a tour de force as insurance broker Sharon Colvin, struggling to climb the greasy pole in her company because of the men standing in her way. Barry Keoghan makes an unnerving appearance as a psychopathic killer, and Corey Hawkins also stars as Ruffalo’s younger and hungrier partner, but is sadly underused and sidelined as the plot cranks up.

Visually, Crime 101 is a slick and cinematic delight. Erik Wilson’s cinematography is ingenious, acting as an homage to film noir while also engrossing the viewer in every detail and bringing you along for the ride. British director Bart Layton, whose previous work includes American Animals in 2018, has created a well-crafted and intelligent LA crime thriller for all to enjoy. While the film does have a long duration of well over two hours, it is necessary and even welcomed as multiple plot strings all knit nicely together to provide one enormous, glorious climax. There are definitely visible inspirations and similarities to Michael Mann’s Heat, and while Hemsworth and Ruffalo may not be Pacino and De Niro, as a whole entity, Crime 101 is a pleasant surprise.