Whatever film Darren Aronofsky has directed normally has the word ‘psychological’ used as prefix in its description. To that end, that genre of drama/thriller is very much his lane.

That changed with his latest film, which is his version of an action crime flick, but with Aronofsky at the wheel, it’s not straight-forward.

1998, Lower East Side of New York City, where Hank (Austin Butler) works as a bartender in a local bar.

In his local apartment building, he as a rather oddball neighbour, Russ (Matt Smith), who’s a punk rocker from England.

Russ asks Hank a big favour, as he’s having to return to England as his father has just had a stroke; he wants him to look after Tonic, his cat, which Hank, as a dog person, begrudgingly agrees to.

It’s a favour that turns his world upside down, when a couple of gangsters visit Russ, and Hank gets in the way, to his detriment. He soon finds himself up to his neck in all kinds of trouble, with no easy way out.

Aronofsky’s film is an adaptation of the 2004 debut novel of the same name, by Charlie Huston, who also wrote the script.

It’s probably the American director’s most commercial film to date, so it’s ironic that also happens to be a box office failure, only making just over $30 million on a budget up to $65 million. That’s not reflective of the film itself however, which is wonderfully compelling.

The story itself isn’t all that, with Hank being drawn into a sordid criminal world against his will, but Aronofsky’s telling of it is engaging.

It’s also aided from a superb cast, lead by the fine Butler, who enjoys playing the everyman, supported by Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith and Griffin Dunne. There’s a dynamic double act by Liv Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio who play dangerous Hasidic brothers. Someone else who shines is Benito Martinez Ocasio, who shows that he has more up his sleeve than being a musician as the world famous wrong’un Rabbit.

It’s certainly Aronofsky’s most playful film, laced with dark humour and brutal violence, which makes for an entertaining cocktail of mayhem. He’s out of his comfort zone for sure, but the edginess he brought to some of his earlier films brings the standard action template to a whole other level.

And although Butler is highly watchable, there is a claim that the adorable Bud the cat, who plays Tonic, is the real thief of the film, stealing every scene he appears in, which is a surprising amount.

It’s an absorbing, frantic detour for Aronofsky, who seems to enjoy stamping his auteurship on a new genre, making this very welcome stolen goods.