Naked Singularity attempts to be a heist film, a social critique on the U.S. legal system, and a philosophical rumination. In essence, it bites off more than it can chew and then chews some more. The result is a well-acted but scattershot film that works better when it sticks to crime.

The story revolves around an earnest but wet behind the ears Manhattan public defender, Casi (John Boyega), who is frustrated by the indifference of the legal system. One of his former clients, Lea (Olivia Cooke), has managed to stay out of trouble and get her life somewhat together. But she feels she is held back because her rap sheet keeps her from getting a better job. Currently she works at a New York Police Department impound facility, where her boss alludes to a quid pro quo, that if she did him some, let’s say, favors, he might be able to get her a better gig. In a kind of diffuse, confusing subplot, she hooks up with Craig (Ed Skrein), a muscular creep who wants the heroin stashed in an impounded vehicle, and he strong-arms Lea to help him get it.

Casi’s cynical fellow public defender and good friend, Dane (Bill Skarsgård), tosses him Lea’s case after she’s arrested for possessing a small amount of heroin. Casi realizes that Lea can got off without a sentence by helping the cops bust the drug deal that Craig has set up. Various crossing and double-crossing ensue. Everybody wants the drugs for their own purposes, some noble and some not. Oh, and Casi briefly floats about two inches above the ground. Confused. Of course, and that the movie’s main problem.

A tenant in Casi’s building is a philosophical stoner, played by an almost unrecognizable Tim Blake Nelson, who pops in every once in a while to expound on the film’s title, a not so unique idea of multiple time lines and end of the universe bromides. But the film takes it seriously (one chapter heading: “10 Days Before the Collapse”) and drops it into the story at random moments. All of which drags the momentum. The addition of the sci-fi element, which includes multiple citywide blackouts, is the least satisfying here. It feels almost like an afterthought.

This is a shame because the quartet of young actors here (Boyega, Cooke, Skrein, and Skarsgård) are excellent. They really dig into characters that are not necessarily fully developed. This feels like a movie that will be revisited years from now because all the members of the cast have become more successful and one can’t believe that they were all once in the same movie.

Naked Singularity has plenty of juicy dialogue and a great sense of place. As long viewers look past the pseudo-philosophy and the filmmakers commit to the multiple schemes at play, then they are in for a familiar but efficient con job.