Don Winslow is one of the foremost names in contemporary US crime fiction, his Border trilogy earning particular acclaim. Even though he’s been publishing at a prolific rate since the early 1990s, surprisingly, there are relatively few adaptations of his work. Bart Layton’s Crime 101, marks just the third silver screen outing for a Don Winslow story. It is taken from the novella of the same name, drawn from his 2020 short story collection Broken – highly rated by our site.
This is far from just any crime film with a cast to die for led by Chris Hemsworth’s Mike/James Davis, a California jewel thief who has stayed one step ahead of the law. Hot on his heels is Mark Ruffalo’s jaded veteran LA Detective Lou Lubesnick. The stellar cast doesn’t stop there, with Halle Berry, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro and Nick Nolte rounding things off. There are unlikely to be many films released this year with a more stacked cast.
The novella is relatively slight, but the central premise and structure remain in place, Lubesnick deducing that the jewel heists carried out along the 101 Highway bear the mark of one exceptional thief. There have been comparisons to Michael Mann’s Heat, given the detective’s obsession with the thief’s trail and the starry cast. Although not quite De Niro and Pacino, Hemsworth and Ruffalo are certainly no slouches.
Fans of Winslow’s work will no doubt devour the film as there is plenty for anyone who loves crime epics. The comparisons to Heat shouldn’t put anyone off enjoying what is an incredibly stylish and well put together thriller, making the most of its cast.
Layton, director of the well-received thriller American Animals, fleshes out the characters and narrative, adding backstory. He impressively turns 60 pages into a 140-minute film, that recalls thrillers that were commonplace in yesteryear but are all too rare in the 2020s. While there are naturally plenty of additions to the novella, the central characters remain intact as does the story and ending.
While several other stories in Winslow’s collection feature Lubesnick to varying degrees, this is a very much a self-contained story, with no plans at present for future films with this cast.
However, this is the first in a planned swathe of Winslow adaptations, with screen versions of The Force, The Border and City on Fire reportedly on the way. Based on the reception for Crime 101, you may well be in for a treat. Crime 101 has earned strong reviews and should play well with readers who enjoyed Broken, Winslow’s novels, the work of Michael Mann and classic crime thrillers more widely.
Interestingly, after writing Broken, Don Winslow went into retirement. However, he has returned this year with The Final Score, a set of short stories similar to Broken. Watch for our review soon.
Crime 101 is in cinemas now. Watch it and/or try the print version of the story using the buttons below.
So looking forward to this one! Winslow is terrific.