‘Crime 101’ review: Ensemble shines in neo-noir love letter to Los Angeles

Going into the new cops-and-crooks thriller “Crime 101,” you may be expecting a drama about a mentor offering a protege an introductory college-level course of sorts from one side of the law or the other.

However, the title of this engrossing star-stacked work — adapted from Don Winslow’s 2020 novella and landing in theaters this week — refers to U.S. Route 101, a highway commonly referred to by Southern Californians as “The 101.”

With heavy hitters Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan and Monica Barbaro playing key characters, the Bart Layton-directed film also makes one of Los Angeles. Beautifully shot by director of photography Erik Alexander Wilson (the “Paddington” movies), this LA love letter was filmed in neighborhoods including Venice, Echo Park, Filipinotown, North Hollywood, Calabasas, Santa Monica, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and the city’s downtown.

This sun-soaked, beach-forward slice of neo-noir sees a Los Angeles Police Department investigator, Ruffalo’s Detective “Lou” Lubesnik, working a case involving numerous big-value robberies that form a trail along The 101. A colleague calls Lou “lone-wolf-obsessed,” as the latter is convinced all of the crimes are the work of one person, who’s careful and goes out of his way to not hurt anyone in the process.

He’s right, of course, as the thief he’s chasing is Hemsworth’s Davis, who grew up with very little and is working to put enough dough away to where he feels he can leave this life behind. In the meantime, he’s struggling to make a connection with anyone, spending a night with a prostitute — and seemingly not that into it — before asking out Maya (Barbaro, “A Complete Unknown”), who rear-ends him at a red light.

Berry portrays Sharon Coombs, an effective but increasingly disillusioned insurance broker for a wealthy firm that keeps dragging its feet when it comes to making her a partner. She does her best to hide her annoyance when she’s taken off one rich prospective client — to request help from the cops before issuing a massive payout to another client — and is replaced by the firm’s new, young, pretty female hire.

Sharon initially gets a cold reception from her cop contact, Lou, although the two become friendlier after he shows up at her yoga class, having moved to a beachfront pad near Sharon’s following a breakup.

That may be a coincidence, but Sharon’s eventual encounter with Davis is not, the thief having identified her as a means to a very lucrative end.

Lou, Sharon and even Davis are, each in his or her own way, the heroes of this story. The primary villain is the unhinged, bleached-blond, dirtbike rider Ormon (Keoghan), who’s working to snatch Davis’ last big score from him.

Also the writer of the screenplay, Layton — known for the acclaimed 2012 documentary “The Imposter” and 2018’s “American Animals,” a docudrama that also featured Keoghan — has crafted a very fluid film. “Crime 101” keeps you hooked as it ebbs and flows, swoons and sways, even as it makes minor missteps.

The biggest nit to pick is that it’s tough to buy the connection between Davis and Maya, who is rightfully suspicious about how cagey Davis is about his line of work and who seems almost personality-less, right down to a lack of family photos in his swanky oceanfront apartment. (It’s one of several ways “Crime 101” brings to mind director Michael Mann’s fantastic 1995 crime epic “Heat,” which, despite its myriad strengths, doesn’t earn the romance between the characters portrayed by Robert De Niro and Amy Brenneman.) Even with the movie’s fairly robust runtime of well over two hours, Layton doesn’t devote enough space to this aspect of the film.

On the other hand, the performances are solid across the board, with Ruffalo standing out if only because Lou feels like the more-together, not-so-distant cousin to Tom Brandis, the emotionally scarred FBI agent the actor portrayed last year on the excellent HBO series “Task.”

And then there’s Keoghan, an Irish actor who seemingly can’t help but to be odd and interesting on the screen and who’s earned raves for performances in films including “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Saltburn.” He’s fascinating here, too, as Ormon, who is ambitious but only so capable, as evidenced by a chaotic scene in which he wreaks havoc inside a jewelry store.

“Crime 101” also gives us small but welcome servings of veteran actors Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nick Nolte, the former as Lou’s unsatisfied girlfriend and the latter as the puppetmaster within a network of thieves.

According to the film’s production notes, Layton’s work here was inspired by classic heist thrillers including Steven Soderbergh’s “Out of Sight” (1998) Mann’s “Thief” (1980) and Norman Jewison’s “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968),” which gets name-dropped deep into the proceedings.

In that way, “Crime 101” could serve as an introductory course for the viewer interested in exploring the genre. Just be sure to also include “Heat” on your syllabus.

‘Crime 101’

Where: Theaters.

When: Feb. 13.

Rated: R for language throughout, some violence and sexual material/nudity.

Runtime: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Stars (of four): 3.