An artful howl of urban lamentation that puts an intriguingly melancholic top-spin on notions of vigilantism, debut director Charles de Lauzirika’s Crave transcends its more pulpy genre roots, succeeding, if barely, as a well modulated, noirish character study.

Josh Lawson, who comes across a bit as a more addled Will Forte, stars as Aiden — a bearded, lonely and downtrodden Detroit crime scene photographer who has Travis Bickle-like revenge fantasies wherein, after moments of violent intervention and dick-swinging action, women flash their breasts in appreciation and Bill Gates appears with bags of money with dollar signs on them. A recovering alcoholic, Aiden seemingly has but one friend, cop Pete (Ron Perlman), and the consuming nature of his freelance work.

When he meets Virginia (Emma Lung), then, a woman in his apartment building, Aiden clings tightly to the burgeoning relationship. He’s appreciative of the sex, certainly, but also the tethering line to humanity she seems to provide against a backdrop of decay and despair. From Virginia’s point-of-view, even if Aiden’s knack for saying the wrong thing seems to habitually unnerve her, he still seems a better option than her skeevy ex-boyfriend, Ravi (Edward Furlong). So she tolerates him, even though their relationship yo-yos back and forth.

It’s easy to put a finger on Crave‘s shortcomings. The basic narrative framework of the story — disillusioned and romance-starved loner has dreams of life finally doing right by him — isn’t all that wildly original, and its many influences are readily apparent. At just under two hours, it could also use an editorial haircut; certain scenes accomplish the same basic point, and a lengthy blackmail subplot with a distasteful client for whom Aiden shoots some birthday party photos could have been streamlined, or discarded entirely in favor of a more concentrated exploration of Virginia and Ravi’s relationship.

But the mode of telling here is everything; Crave is undeniably artfully constructed, and has a certain woozy hold, no matter its variable shifts in tone. Working from a script co-written with Robert Lawton, de Lauzirika — the creative architect and producer on special edition DVD box sets of Blade Runner, Twin Peaks and the Alien franchise — dips his toes in dark comedy, drama and romantic awkwardness and alienation, delivering a left-of-center character study that feels vital, alive and of the moment. Cinematographer William Eubank captures Detroit’s griminess in evocative fashion, while production designer David L. Snyder does superlative work in establishing the film’s noirish bona fides. (Phase 4 Films, R, 113 minutes)