Caught Stealing: 5 biggest changes from book to movie

Caught Stealing is a 2025 American dark comedy crime thriller directed and produced by Darren Aronofsky, with a screenplay by Charlie Huston based on his novel of the same name. The film features a cast led by Austin Butler, Regina King, and Zoë Kravitz.

The plot follows a former star baseball player turned bartender who gets pulled into New York City’s criminal underworld after agreeing to pet sit for his neighbor.

In 1998, on New York’s Lower East Side, former baseball prospect Hank Thompson is a struggling bartender whose life unravels after he agrees to care for his neighbor’s cat. Drawn into a violent web of mobsters and a missing key tied to a drug deal, Hank must confront his past and fight to survive as he searches for a way out.

Caught Stealing, based on Charlie Huston’s novel, makes several changes in its adaptation. Some characters and plot points are altered or replaced, and Hank’s story is simplified. Minor villains and subplots are streamlined, giving the film a more focused crime thriller tone while keeping the core story intact.

Here are the five biggest changes made in the Caught Stealing movie compared to the book.

Disclaimer: The following list is ranked in no particular order, and the opinions expressed belong solely to the author.

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Hank and Roman’s fates, and 4 other changes from book to film in Caught Stealing

1) Hank and Roman’s death: Book vs. movie

Austin Butler in Caught Stealing (Image via YouTube/Sony Pictures Entertainment)

A moment in the third act of Caught Stealing shows Hank trying to arrange Roman’s death after she threatens his mother. Although he chases her and injures her, he does not kill her, leaving that to the Drucker brothers.

This change from the novel, where Hank kills Roman himself, shows a difference in how the character is portrayed. In the film, Hank is less willing to kill, unlike the version in the book.

This also shapes another scene with Russ. In both versions, Hank’s actions cause Russ’s death, but the film shows it as brief and partly accidental, while the book describes it with more violence. Even so, Hank tries to save Russ, showing the film’s focus on his hesitation with killing.

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2) Replacing Ed and Paris with Lipa and Shmully

Lipa and Shmully, Orthodox Jewish siblings in the movie (Image via YouTube/Sony Pictures Entertainment)

In Charlie Huston’s novel Caught Stealing, Ed and Paris are brothers with a history of crime and a backstory tied to abuse in the juvenile justice system. In the film, they are replaced by Lipa and Shmully, Orthodox Jewish siblings who take on a similar role as antagonists involved in Yvonne’s death.

Both pairs are threats, but Lipa and Shmully are shown with a lighter tone. The film gives them a domestic life and moments of humor, without the darker elements of Ed and Paris.

This change fits the film’s dark comedy style and adds levity that would not have worked with the original characters.

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3) Hank’s darker backstory in the novel

Butler as Hank in the movie (Image via YouTube/Sony Pictures Entertainment)

In the novel, Hank is shown as more willing to use violence and is given a criminal past that the film leaves out. This difference shapes how the two versions of the story present him.

Both versions include a car crash from Hank’s past, but the details are not the same. In the film, Hank kills his friend Dale after crashing into a telephone pole when he is younger.

In the book, the victim is Rich, and the crash happens after Hank has already spent time in college. This shifts the timeline of his life and shows him at a different stage than the film does.

The book also explains that Hank once joined his friends in burglaries after his baseball injury, a detail that points to his early involvement in crime and sets up what happens in later books.

The film leaves this out and tells the story as a complete piece on its own, keeping the focus on Hank’s struggle in the present rather than building toward future events.

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4) Russ’s death: Greater weight in the book

A still from the movie (Image via YouTube/Sony Pictures Entertainment)

In both the novel and film versions of Caught Stealing, Hank’s remorse over Yvonne’s death is a central force for his character. However, the novel gives more weight to Hank’s guilt over Russ’s death, which is reduced in the film.

Hank is troubled by recurring nightmares linked to his earlier car accident in both versions, with these dreams later drawing in elements of Yvonne’s fate. In the novel, after Russ’s death, his nightmares expand further to include that loss.

The film treats Russ’s death with less focus, showing less of Hank’s grief. Instead, it centers Hank’s drive on Yvonne and his mother. This change shows how Caught Stealing adjusts and simplifies parts of the story to keep it more direct.

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5) Changes to minor villains in the film

In the movie, Colorado is portrayed by Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny (Image via YouTube/Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Caught Stealing can be seen as an adaptation of the original story, with some characters and plot elements reduced or changed to create a more direct crime thriller. Several antagonists from the book were either changed or left out in the film.

The novel includes a group of henchmen working under Detective Roman: a Samoan longshoreman named Bolo, an assassin called Red, and two enforcers named Bert and Ernie. In the film, Bert and Ernie are replaced by Aleksei and Pavel, who take on the role of the main muscle, while characters like Bolo are left out.

The character Colorado seems to be based on Red, who in the book is a threat willing to kill without hesitation. In the film, Colorado has a shorter role compared to Red, who receives more attention before his death. Red is shown as an Asian man with red hair, while Colorado is played by Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny.

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Interested viewers can watch Caught Stealing, now showing in theatres.