I frequent the movie theater often, so I had to sit through the trailer for this film more times than was necessary. It did not make me want to see Darren Aronofsky’s new film starring Matt Smith, Zoe Kravitz, Regina King, Liev Schreiber, Austin Butler, and an unrecognizable Vincent D’Onofrio anymore than a lame popcorn bucket would have. It was positive word of mouth that lured me into this one, and it did not disappoint.
The film follows Austin Butler’s Hank as he tries to stop some Russian mobsters try to break into his neighbors home. Now down a kidney, he is drawn into a world of crime and stolen money. Not that he needs this in his life since he still suffers from PTSD from a car accident that killed his best friend and ended his own baseball career. As people start to die around him, Hank has to outsmart the mob or die trying.
This film give so much material for Austin Butler to work with that he gives a genuinely painful, heartbreaking performance and manages to do so while playing the character off as imperfectly likable. Endearing, even. The trailer really fooled me into believing this film was just an empty action comedy. It isn’t by any means and Butler’s performance elevates it into something extraordinary.
It takes its time setting up Hank’s relationship with his girlfriend (Kravitz) and his bar owner boss. Even the short scene during which the neighbor (Smith) asks him to watch the cat while he goes to London gives the viewer a glimpse into 1998 New York. The crime. The subways. The lack of touchscreen cell phones. The World Trade Center. And, like most films centered in NYC, Hank ends up at Coney Island because of course he does.
The story has a few twists and turns and aligning himself with one enemy in order to survive another is something that Hank does in stride without losing the decent person buried underneath a terrible situation. One that his neighbor unwittingly got him into because when he asked Hank to watch the cat, he assumed Hank would just feed it, not bring the litter box and cat into his own apartment.
Matt Smith is everything you would expect from Matt Smith. Zoe Kravitz adds some femininity to the film, and a bit of conscience. But its Regina King, who wasn’t even featured in that terrible trailer, that put on a show next to Butler’s endearing performance. Every scene she is in is great.
Go see this one, movie lovers. You won’t regret it. It wouldn’t surprise me if this is in the Best Picture conversation and I think Austin Butler has a good shot at landing another Best Actor nomination.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
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Becky Tyler Art and Photography 
I frequent the movie theater often, so I had to sit through the trailer for this film more times than was necessary. It did not make me want to see Darren Aronofsky’s new film starring Matt Smith, Zoe Kravitz, Regina King, Liev Schreiber, Austin Butler, and an unrecognizable Vincent D’Onofrio anymore than a lame popcorn bucket would have. It was positive word of mouth that lured me into this one, and it did not disappoint.
The film follows Austin Butler’s Hank as he tries to stop some Russian mobsters try to break into his neighbors home. Now down a kidney, he is drawn into a world of crime and stolen money. Not that he needs this in his life since he still suffers from PTSD from a car accident that killed his best friend and ended his own baseball career. As people start to die around him, Hank has to outsmart the mob or die trying.
This film give so much material for Austin Butler to work with that he gives a genuinely painful, heartbreaking performance and manages to do so while playing the character off as imperfectly likable. Endearing, even. The trailer really fooled me into believing this film was just an empty action comedy. It isn’t by any means and Butler’s performance elevates it into something extraordinary.
It takes its time setting up Hank’s relationship with his girlfriend (Kravitz) and his bar owner boss. Even the short scene during which the neighbor (Smith) asks him to watch the cat while he goes to London gives the viewer a glimpse into 1998 New York. The crime. The subways. The lack of touchscreen cell phones. The World Trade Center. And, like most films centered in NYC, Hank ends up at Coney Island because of course he does.
The story has a few twists and turns and aligning himself with one enemy in order to survive another is something that Hank does in stride without losing the decent person buried underneath a terrible situation. One that his neighbor unwittingly got him into because when he asked Hank to watch the cat, he assumed Hank would just feed it, not bring the litter box and cat into his own apartment.
Matt Smith is everything you would expect from Matt Smith. Zoe Kravitz adds some femininity to the film, and a bit of conscience. But its Regina King, who wasn’t even featured in that terrible trailer, that put on a show next to Butler’s endearing performance. Every scene she is in is great.
Go see this one, movie lovers. You won’t regret it. It wouldn’t surprise me if this is in the Best Picture conversation and I think Austin Butler has a good shot at landing another Best Actor nomination.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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