Crime 101
A series of jewel heists on California’s Route 101 unites a group of damaged characters in Bart Layton’s edgy, multi-layered crime epic.
L.A. story: Corey Hawkins and Mark Ruffalo.
Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures.
by JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
The opening shot of the Los Angeles skyline turned on its head neatly sets the tone for Bart Layton’s smart, character-driven crime thriller. Setting up all the tropes in a slickly executed overture, Layton introduces his stock characters before peeling off their layers of prescription, like a child picking off the wings of an insect. There’s the meticulous, top-drawer jewel thief who looks like a Hugo Boss model; the rumpled good cop in a department of self-serving bureaucrats; the hard-working insurance broker who’s long overdue for a partnership in her male-centric firm; and various other acolytes circling the hub of the story.
Like many a film, Crime 101 starts first thing in the morning – in this instance 5.20am – while it’s still dark, and our protagonists are still trying to kick their brains into gear. Sharon Combs (Halle Berry) stares disapprovingly at her reflection in the mirror before applying her make-up; Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) is already on his phone, on the loo, too preoccupied to shave; and James Davis (Chris Hemsworth) is in his car, setting up his first heist of the day. For the last-named, not everything goes to plan and, unbeknownst to him, a microscopic speck of blood is left behind in his vehicle…
Chris Hemsworth looks pretty much like he always does, particularly in Men in Black: International, but there’s something slightly off about James Davis – or is it Mike? This super-smooth criminal sweats, finds eye contact difficult and he’s not in the business of hurting people. He’s in it for the money – obviously. As the separate strands of the plot begin to braid – and the characters pass each other unknowingly on the boulevards of LA – a gentle sense of suspense descends on the narrative, when a fourth major character enters their midst. He is Ormon, a blond-haired crook who also works for James’s employer ‘Money’ (Nick Nolte, who’s about to lose his voice) and, as played by Barry Keoghan, he introduces a jolt of danger to the film.
Bart Layton, like many English filmmakers before him, brings an outsider’s view to the City of Angels, highlighting its sprawling magnitude, freeways, plush avenues, underground car parks and sidewalks crowded by the homeless. It’s a genuinely vivid canvas. Layton won a Bafta for his first film, the documentary The Imposter (2012), and then he directed the hybrid docudrama American Animals (with Barry Keoghan), and here he goes full-fiction with his own adaptation of Don Winslow's short story. Often short stories make for better movies and Layton’s paring back of the narrative allows for plenty of atmosphere to shade his material. It’s familiar ground but the characters’ human frailties make it a surprisingly engrossing picture, and it’s a rare portrait of a cinematic city seldom seen on screen of late.
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Halle Berry, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, Tate Donovan, Devon Bostick, Payman Maadi, Babak Tafti, Deborah Hedwall.
Dir Bart Layton, Pro Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Derrin Schlesinger, Dimitri Doganis, Bart Layton, Shane Salerno, Chris Hemsworth and Ben Grayson, Screenplay Bart Layton, Ph Erik Wilson, Pro Des Scott Dougan, Ed Jacob Secher Schulsinger and Julian Hart, Music Blanck Mass (aka Benjamin John Power), Costumes Jenny Eagan, Sound Luke Gentry and Ben Meechan, Dialect coaches Tim Monich and Jamison Bryant.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Working Title Films/The Story Factory/Wild State/Raw-Sony Pictures.
140 mins. UK/USA. 2026. UK and US Rel: 13 February 2026. Cert. 15.
