Writer/director David Ayer is one of those filmmakers who works with a distinct and unique signature. Stories of the criminal element, as well as the loyalty and violence within those circles, are time tested themes and part of Ayer’s stock-in-trade, and The Tax Collector’s existence only expands that particular body of work. While this movie will play differently to individual viewers, there’s no denying that David Ayer has crafted a compelling, if not erratic, crime thriller, with intense performances amid his usual thematic notes.