The new movie "Crime 101" that stars many known actors: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Monica Barbaro, Nick Nolte and Halle Berry, tells the story of a worn-down police officer, Ruffalo, a jewel theif, Helsworth and an unhappy employee of a high-end insurance company. This story is not told sequentially like most movies, but within a series of parallel events where about 6 different stories are told simultaneously, and at the conclusion, several of these stories intersect in a climactic scene. This kind of storytelling is innovative, but most of the scenes are about jewel heists, chase scenes, and gunfights that we have all seen before.
By far the best part of this movie is the story about Helle Berry, who plays Sharon, an 11-year employee of a large, upscale insurance company that caters to the super-rich. Now at age 53, Sharon has been lied to for years and promised a promotion to a partner of the firm she works for, and has been strung along for years, with lies including "we will see in January", "just hold tight", "we are putting a pin in this for now", "it is right around the corner". Sharon's frustrations about years of being lied to, understandably, turn into overwhelming anger, leading her to make a huge mistake - becoming involved with a criminal named Davis, played by Hemsworth. The one scene with Sharon confronting the lowlife CEO of the insurance company when he tries to groom a much younger employee to take Sharon's place is extremely well written and well-acted. This one scene makes it worth seeing this movie, for all of us who have worked for companies and have been lied to, and treated with injustice and disrespect.
As far as the ending, I thought it was very close to not being believable, considering the circumstances and the decisions of the long-suffering police officer, Lou, played by Ruffalo, that in the real world he would very likely never make.
The Rotten Tomatoes rating for Crime 101 is a too high 86%, with my rating around 80% and a moderate recommendation.
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