"In the absorbing new thriller "Crime 101," a man tells a woman that, if she wants to get in touch with him, all she has to do is post a beach pic to her Instagram account. Circumstances require that they keep their interactions a secret, and this will be their way of communicating in code. The film itself, which is set in Los Angeles, is replete with coastal imagery, though what these visuals signal isn't especially cryptic:"
"As a happy longtime resident of Pasadena, a city in a landlocked stretch of Los Angeles County, I blanched at this wrongheaded sentiment and tried my best not to hold it against Sharon or the movie. I also stifled a laugh during a scene in which Lou, arguing with his soon-to-be ex-wife (a little-used Jennifer Jason Leigh), claims that he's moving to the ocean: "I'm way more beach than you are!" he insists. Ryan Gosling's Ken, from " Barbie," couldn't have said it better."
Crime 101 centers on a coded Instagram communication using a beach photo and repeatedly uses coastal imagery to position the beach as dream or refuge for its protagonists. Mike Davis, a jewel thief, hides in a luxury apartment overlooking the Pacific. Detective Lou Lubesnick pursues a string of robberies while longing for an ocean view. Sharon Coombs works as an insurance broker connected to Lou. Bart Layton directs with pronounced noir influence and avoids many Los Angeles clichés, though some dialogue and setting choices misrepresent inland communities. The title references Route 101 and the story originates from a Don Winslow novella set in San Diego.
Read at The New Yorker
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