What this adaptation of Neil Cross' novel lacks in budget, it makes up for in style. While first-time helmer Sarossy secures a classy, distinctive look, his grip on narrative is weak - particularly in the final half-hour as simmering pretensions come to the boil when hit man Jon (Howard) seeks philosophical and religious redemption.
The film is at its best conveying Jon's internal/external sense of 'in-betweenness' - he inhabits a moral and physical no-man's-land, stretching from his boss' underground lair to his married friends' high rise home - but falters over the love triangle subplot as his deadened emotions wake up in the presence of Cathy (O'Rawe).
A healthy dose of black humour reinforces the impact of the violence to create an odd, self-enclosed, parallel world where plot coincidences become credible tricks of fate.