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 — refers to U.S. Route 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.

Halle Berry appears in a scene from “Crime 101.” (Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios Content Services)

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.

Barry Keoghan portrays an ambitious, unhinged thief in “Crime 101.” (Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios Content Services)

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.

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.”

Corey Hawkins, left, and Mark Ruffalo portray Los Angeles police detectives in “Crime 101.” (Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios Content Services)

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” keeps you hooked as it ebbs and flows, swoons and sways, even as it makes minor missteps.

(“Crime 101” contains language throughout, some violence and sexual material/nudity)

‘CRIME 101’

Rated R. At the AMC Boston Common, Causway, South Bay Center, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, Landmark Kendall Square and suburban theaters.

Grade: B+