Words Jim Roberts

Hank Thompson, a one-time baseball star turned barman, is unwittingly pulled into New York City’s criminal underworld when a seemingly simple favour spirals into a nightmare of mistaken identity, stolen money, and survival instincts he never knew he possessed.

Austin Butler stars as this reluctant antihero navigating a peculiar web of mobsters, crooked cops, and violent drug dealers across nineties Manhattan. Matt Smith is almost unrecognisable as his punk-rock neighbour; Zoë Kravitz, as Hank’s girlfriend, becomes entangled in the escalating chaos; and Regina King plays a detective torn between justice and corruption. Key players not to be overlooked: Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio are a pair of formidable Jewish mobsters, while Benito A Martínez Ocasio – aka Bad Bunny – is a ruthless Puerto Rican gang member. They all want their pound of flesh.

In his signature style, Darren Aronofsky – the visionary behind Requiem For A Dream, The  Fountain, and Black Swan – transforms Charlie Huston’s novel into a visceral, punchy urban thriller. A master of psychological extremes, he pushes characters to their breaking points and here skilfully depicts Hank’s descent from an ordinary man to a reluctant, but necessary fighter.

It’s a return to gritty, fast-paced street-level storytelling after The Whale, delivering yet another unflinching dive into the darkest corners of human nature, with a timely dose of black comedy to boot.

Hopes are high for a home run. 

Thick As Thieves

Austin Butler

After his Elvis breakout, the rising star soars. Now under a director famed for drawing raw, award-winning performances – think Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler and Brendan Fraser in The Whale – he’s sure to knock it out of the park.

Zoë Kravitz

Aronofsky thrives on taking his leading women to the edge. Fierce, yet fractured – like Black Swan’s Natalie Portman and Mother!’s Jennifer Lawrence – Kravitz enters the fray as an EMT nurse whose steamy entanglement leaves her questioning if she should stay in the game.

Matt Smith

If Doctor Who fans were stunned by their beloved Eleventh’s blonde wig in House Of The Dragon, they’re in for an even bigger shock. Mohawked, studded, and punked out like a Sex Pistol, Smith is full anarchy in the USA.