Director Darren Aronofsky is normally known for his ability to create films that make you truly uncomfortable; Mother! is a film you don’t often want to return to, and Requiem For A Dream is a brilliant piece of cinema that I will never watch again. So what a surprise it is to find an entertaining, humorous, thrilling movie from him that feels distinctly like a film you might find in the mid-90s.

Former baseball prodigy-turned-bartender Henry “Hank” Thompson (Austin Butler) drinks away the trauma of a car accident that killed his teammate many years ago. Together with his new girlfriend, Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz), he agrees to look after the cat of his neighbour, Russ (Matt Smith), whilst he is away. Later, thugs come for Russ but only find Hank, who is swiftly beaten and hospitalised. Once home again, he finds a key of Russ’s that the thugs were looking for, plunging him into the underworld with Detective Roman (Regina King), two rabbis (Liev Schreiber & Vincent D’Onofrio), and the violent mob boss Colorado (Bad Bunny). 

The script is fantastic. Adapted from his own novel of the same name, screenwriter Charlie Huston injects this film with adrenaline through a plot that runs at a mile a minute. It has such electrifying energy that so many films made these days lack. The closest influence that comes to mind would be Martin Scorsese’s 1985 classic After Hours, which also centres on a man who is seemingly completely and utterly out of luck in every situation he finds himself in. I’m not quite sure the ending sticks the landing for me personally, but the majority of this film is a wild ride.

Austin Butler gives his best lead performance of his career so far (his supporting performance in Dune: Part Two should go down in history as one of the best villain portrayals). He holds this film together with his bare hands and guides you through the winding plot with him. Some top-tier drunk acting as well, you could fully believe he was absolutely shit-faced when he was in the bar, standing on the pool table, belting out karaoke. A lot of the supporting performances here are also great, including yet another sultry Zoe Kravitz — she does seem to be playing a sultry character in all of her films, maybe her current typecast. Schreiber and D’Onofrio are brilliant as the two rabbis, but Regina King doesn’t quite get enough to do with her detective character; you do wish for a little more from an Oscar-winner.

As a cat lover, this film was sometimes a hard watch. The cat is a little bit injured at one point at which broke my heart, and there is one car accident scene where you think to yourself, “How the hell did that cat survive that?”. It is worth noting that the performance from the cat is the best I have ever seen from a feline. Tonic the cat deserves an Oscar for being so well behaved whilst also biting the characters that deserve it.

Overall, it’s a pleasant surprise that Aronofsky has created a film that one could call fun and enjoyable, whilst also adding some moments that may make an audience member squirm a little bit. I hope this means that he is a cat person because this, at times, feels like a love letter to the things you would do for a cat.

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