Crime 101 is a sleek, sun-scorched crime thriller that turns Los Angeles into a pressure cooker of ambition, deception, and moral brinkmanship. Set against the glare of the 101 freeway, the film follows an elusive master thief whose meticulous, high-stakes heists have left law enforcement baffled—and hungry for answers. As the clock ticks toward what he hopes will be his final score, the city itself becomes an accomplice, offering cover in its endless lanes and unforgiving light.
At the center is the thief (Chris Hemsworth), operating by a rigid personal code that values precision over chaos. His plans begin to unravel when he crosses paths with a disillusioned insurance broker (Halle Berry) at a crossroads of her own. Their uneasy collaboration brings emotional depth to the mechanics of the heist—less about guns blazing than about the quiet calculations people make when they believe they’re running out of time.
Closing in is a relentless detective (Mark Ruffalo), whose pursuit is as psychological as it is procedural. The cat-and-mouse tension escalates as the lines between hunter and hunted blur, pushing all three toward an inevitable reckoning. As the multimillion-dollar job nears, the film asks a sharp question: when every choice carries a cost, who actually walks away clean?
Adapted from Crime 101 by Don Winslow, the screenplay and direction by Bart Layton bring a cool, documentarian edge—echoing his previous work while sharpening the genre’s modern pulse. Layton’s Los Angeles is less postcard than crucible, where heat, money, and ego collide.
The ensemble deepens the film’s texture, with standout turns from Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nick Nolte—each adding grit, unpredictability, and emotional stakes.
Why Crime 101 hits hard
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A modern noir pulse: Sun-bleached visuals meet shadowy motives.
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Character-driven tension: The heist is a catalyst, not the whole story.
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Prestige pedigree: From source material to direction, craft leads the charge.
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Ensemble firepower: Every role sharpens the central conflict.
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Moral complexity: Winning isn’t binary—and escape comes at a price.
Credits at a glance
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Directed & Written by: Bart Layton
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Based on: Crime 101 by Don Winslow
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Produced by: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Derrin Schlesinger, Dimitri Doganis, Bart Layton, Shane Salerno, Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Grayson
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Executive Producers: Bergen Swanson, Sarah-Jane Wright, Amelia Granger, Joely Fether, Peter Straughan
Crime 101 is a confident, high-wire thriller—cool on the surface, combustible underneath—proving that in Los Angeles, every lane leads to a choice you can’t outrun.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 28: Bart Layton, Monica Barbaro, Halle Berry, Chris Hemsworth, Barry Keoghan and Mark Ruffalo attends the European Gala Screening for Amazons: CRIME 101 at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on January 28, 2026 in London, England. CRIME 101 is in cinemas on 13 February (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment)
