Overview

• Ahead of its August 29 theatrical release from Sony/Columbia, the film adapts Charlie Huston’s novel from a screenplay by the author.
• Set in pre-gentrified 1998 New York, the story follows Hank, a former baseball prospect whose simple cat-sitting favor draws him into clashes with rival criminal factions.
• Reviewers single out the period detail and craft, citing Matthew Libatique’s grime-soaked cinematography and Rob Simonsen’s score recorded with Idles.
• Austin Butler is widely credited as the film’s emotional anchor, with notices also highlighting turns from Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Bad Bunny, Regina King, Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio.
• Critics note relentless, graphic violence and a sometimes uneasy blend of dark humor and brutality, with praise for propulsion tempered by concerns over tonal coherence; the film is rated R.