POPCORN REVIEWSS

Based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Charlie Hudson, one of the interesting aspects of the drama remains its characterization, wherein most characters formulate the fabric and the texture of the drama rather effectively here. For instance, you realise outside the addiction trait that Hank is a green flag, being very close to his mother (who isn’t show until a brief scene at the end), with whom he shares his love for baseball. There is also a sense of regret and guilt infused in his psyche, something that stems from his past involving an accident that not only ended his baseball career, but in the process, also lost his best friend in that incident, something that we get to know in bits progressively throughout the film. And it is ironic on how his intoxication of the past, acts as a connective tissue of his present, even when briefly being distracted during his steamy relationship with his girlfriend Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz).

The black comedy here goes hand-in-hand with the characterization on display – you are introduced to Russ (Matt Smith), Hank’s neighbour whom you first spot leaving to visit his ailing father while entrusting a reluctant Hank with his cat, Bud. It is interesting how Bud plays a similar character as John Wick’s pet, around which the series of events transpire. You also have two Russian gangsters, a Puerto Rico associate, a narcotics detective Roman (Regina King), a couple of Hasidic Drucker brothers – all of whom contribute to the texture of the drama. And in the midst of the chaos, the object of desire remains an unknown key that binds all the sub-plots together.

It is interesting how the Chekof’s gun in the narrative is a harmless key, that connects the dots in the screenplay. In a parallel universe, you would have Sardar Khan from Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012) violently inquiring – ‘Chaabi Kahaan Hai? G@@nd Mein Daale Ho Kya Chaabi’, but then I digress. And yet this key acts as a turning point in the life of Hank, firstly given how he can’t remember where he put it, to even the stakes in the drama being raised with a couple of deaths and a riveting shoot-off that holds your interest in the narrative. In fact, the tone implied is of a black comedy that gives a different dimension to the otherwise standard tropes of gangsters and shootouts, that seem repetitive across many films.

And in the process, you begin to root for the journey of Hank who is often the ‘non-striker’ in a cricket or baseball match, often looking to steal a single or a homerun, while invariably having to face the wrath of many characters – including a kidney rupture, or even commiting an innocent murder along the way. Ironically, a character does tell Hank on how he mustn’t show his teeth if he isn’t going to bite – a perfect anti-thesis of the journey of Hank. The pulpy nature of the proceedings can be determined from the fact that there are so many twists involving murders and shootouts, but the presence of the cops (other than Roman) remains negligible. In a parallel world, the film would be Animal (2023) but then I digress.

One of the criticisms for me lay in the final act, particularly that included the coinciding events of intertwining characters. There was a considerable buildup keeping a potential face-off in mind, and something that could have been unhinged with humour, turned out to be mildly simplistic even though the writing does tie the events together including a call-back scene. Personally, I just wished the drama to end on a massive showdown similar to the finale of Delhi Belly (2009), but that is for another day. Despite the stumble, the journey still remained entertaining and enjoyable.