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“CRIME 101” Rated R
The title “Crime 101” sounds like a criminology course at a community college, to be followed by “Investigations 101,” “Forensics 101,” and so forth.
But college courses don’t add up as the basis for a film, at least not this one.
The “101” in the film’s title is a reference to a major freeway that runs through Los Angeles, and for some reason not fully explained, it turns out to be the most advantageous nexus to a criminal playground for master jewel thief Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth).
Depending on traffic conditions, which can be horrible in the City of Angels, getting on or off the 101 Freeway can be challenging, but apparently in this world of criminal mischief this stretch of asphalt allows for tidy escapes from authorities.
No need to ponder much about the logistics of highway robbery, “Crime 101” is all about targeting the wealthy for jewel heists orchestrated by a gentleman thief. Mike eschews violence and is courteous enough to return cellphones to victims momentarily detained during a robbery.
Mike’s modus operandi is one of careful planning and precision with consistent execution. His demeanor is neither angry nor aggressive. Thwarting the best efforts of the police, he does not leave behind palpable evidence.
Meanwhile, rumpled veteran LAPD detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) has developed a theory about the 101 Freeway robber that detects a pattern. That matters to him because his partner is cynical and his superiors are more interested in hasty case closures than the grind of police work.
The highway thief has in mind that this will be his last job, which happens all too often in crime thrillers. This reminds me of Robert De Niro in “The Score” telling his dubious girlfriend Angela Bassett that he wants to settle down and forego more thefts.
An elderly crime boss (Nick Nolte), going by the street moniker Money, has other ideas about Mike’s future, which are not all welcoming. While Nolte remains active for his age, it was interesting to see him in this role, with his raspy voice more pronounced than ever, and still, he pulls it off nicely.
Not exactly loyal, Money doesn’t have a problem with creating obstacles for Mike by employing dirt-bike riding, bleached-blonde psycho Ormon (Barry Keoghan) as a cutthroat free-agent competitor to clinch a heist the underworld boss orchestrated.
What makes Mike more compelling is that he functions with a personal code to which he adheres as best as possible under trying circumstances. With other shady types in the mix, Ormon is not alone in forsaking the notion of honor among thieves.
One twist in the story is how one night Mike’s car is rear-ended by Maya (Monica Barbaro) and a tentative romance follows, which is complicated by Mike’s reticence to reveal anything about his past. This interlude adds little else to delve a bit more into Mike’s character.
On the other hand, while there is no romantic link, Mike crosses paths with Sharon Coombs (Halle Berry), an insurance broker investigating the jewelry heist as her company is on the hook for $3 million absent a recovery.
At her age of maturity, Sharon finds her loyalty to the company does not result in a deserved promotion to partner. The male-dominated Board of Directors is only interested in Sharon’s ability or not to land an obnoxious billionaire client.
The corporate culture does not favor middle-aged women, even though Sharon is still gorgeous. But along comes a younger, hotter broker who upstages Sharon to close the deal with a wealthy client. Sharon’s gaze starts to look elsewhere for a career choice.
Caution is how Mike approaches any job, and he’s not going to court disaster by taking on a jewelry store robbery in Santa Barbara he deems too dicey. That doesn’t stop Money from giving the task to the unhinged Ormon, who proceeds to create chaos with a violent rampage.
As is customary in a heist caper, there’s always one big robbery leading to inevitable twists and turns. Fitting for how there is more focus on personality than action, this thriller adroitly avoids for the most part the usual action tropes of a crime story.
“Crime 101” holds our interest for more than just the compelling escapades of the crooks. Above all, it’s tuned to a character study of motivations behind the disparate players and how they come to intersect in ways not easily predictable.
The audience becomes invested in the cat-and-mouse games played by the honest cop grappling with uncaring bosses and separation from his wife; the cool, confident insurance broker at odds with sexist colleagues; and the master criminal uncomfortable with the violence in his world.
Given that “Crime 101” has been distributed by Amazon MGM Studios, it would be reasonable to expect that someday it will end up on Amazon’s Prime Video, which means seeing the film in a theater is not the only option, even if it is the better one.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.