An elusive thief, eyeing his final score, encounters a disillusioned insurance broker at her own crossroads. As their paths intertwine, a relentless detective trails them hoping to thwart the multi-million dollar heist they are planning.

‘Crime 101’ is a clever, tightly constructed crime thriller from Bart Layton, following a group of individuals whose lives gradually converge as a major heist takes shape. The film opens by introducing Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth), a disciplined jewel thief who plans his robberies with clinical precision, avoiding violence and ensuring clean getaways along U.S. Route 101. His work catches the attention of LAPD detective Lou Lubesnick, who is convinced a string of robberies are connected and committed by one man, despite scepticism from his superiors.

Also drawn into the orbit of the case are Halle Berry’s insurance broker Sharon Combs and Barry Keoghan’s volatile thief Ormon, with all four narratives gradually dovetailing as the story unfolds. Layton, best known for ‘American Animals’ and ‘The Imposter’, brings a similar sense of realism and procedural detail here, grounding the film in method and psychology rather than spectacle as you tend to expect from a movie in this genre. He maintains a feeling of control throughout, never losing sight of the mechanics behind the crime.

The film wears its influences openly, explicitly referencing ‘Bullitt’, ‘The French Connection’ and ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’, and there’s more than a hint of ‘Heat’ in the way an intelligent criminal and an equally intelligent detective circle one another. Like Michael Mann’s work, ‘Crime 101’ is sleek and clinical, more interested in discipline and professionalism than chaos (though it does find some of that in Keoghan’s character Ormon, who could easily be based on Waingro from ‘Heat’), and it finds tension in the meticulous preparation and policework as much as in the action itself.

Hemsworth is particularly strong, playing against type as a restrained, methodical operator rather than a showy antihero, while the supporting cast add are well inserted to complement the central narrative (Tate Donovan a highlight as a rich prick). The result is a solid, disciplined crime film that does exactly what it sets out to do and I really enjoyed ‘Crime 101’.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Bart Layton

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte and Halle Berry

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt32430579/