Little Odessa (1995)

This story lacks a primary source of knowledge. The director is trying to tell you something he doesn't know well himself. As a son of immigrants from the USSR he is obviously interested in his roots but he doesn't bother to learn about them before speading the news. As a result you will see an imaginary community of Brighton Beach that exists only in director's mind.You will see some popular actors in this movie but not exactly a good acting from them.

Writer/director James Gray's (We Own the Night) first film was critically acclaimed for it's cinematography and for performances by Vanessa Redgrave and Maximilian Schell. It is not an action film, even though the main character is a hit-man. It is a drama about family and shame.Mr. Orange, Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, The Incredible Hulk) plays a son who has been disowned for bringing shame on the family by his behavior. He returns to Brighton Beach to do a job, and reunites with his family as his mother lays dying. He also reunited with Moira Kelly, much to the delight of movie viewers.About the only one happy to see him was his younger brother Rueban, played by Edward Furlong (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Pecker). Well, mom was happy, but moms are always happy no matter how bad their children are - trust me on that.Violence was at a minimum for a Russian Mafia/hit-man picture, and the focus was on the family. Maximilian Schell was excellent as the father that made piece just for a moment to allow Redgrave to see her son.Gray's first film has nuance and subtlety not often seen in a film featuring the mafia.

This is a great film, and considering this is a debut for the director, it's even more impressive. And the guy was only 24! What will strike you about this film is the economy of footage and the directorial vision. Gray knows exactly what shots are needed and how long to use them, there is none of this showy, slappy editing or gratuitous shots. Each scene is composed and skillful. You really get the sense that he had every shot meticulously choreographed and planned out before showing up on the set, and further, that this planning was dead-on in its strengthening of the mood and tone of the picture. To illustrate this, there is one scene where Tim Roth shoots someone in broad daylight. Gray handles this scene so that it is jarring without accessorizing or glamorizing the violence. It is quick and sudden. Any number of directors would have shot the hell out of this scene and used a million angles and would have had no idea of how to play the scene in context. And this is a minor scene, a simple scene. The entire film is completely well-thought out and uses this same masterful direction. Gray also knows how to use a camera and where to put them. This film is visually stimulating without going overboard, like the difference between Jimmy Page and Steve Vai: virtuosity and skill does not have to equal genius, god knows what Guy Ritchie would have done to this film, but it sure would've been unwatchable. A director, like any artist, must know how much to include and when to stop, and Gray gets this right.If you have ever liked Ed Furlong or Tim Roth, you will love them in this. They are both allowed room to really deliver emotional, realistic, and moving performances. How do they do this when they've been good and bad in other films? That's right: they were directed properly. Both actors were right for their parts but they were also kept to a very real tone, something that separates a director like Gray from one like Joanou or whoever "directed" that thing Boondock Saints (both films could possibly be described as in the same genre as this one). In summary, this is an amazing debut film with solid performances and gripping story.

It's the camera-work which first impresses in this one. The shots are so well taken.Roth is excellent, bordering on superb, and should win the Hugh Laurie Award for the best job done portraying (and sounding convincingly like) a 'north a-merican' by a Brit.Are talents like Schell and Redgrave wasted? Hardly. More: their Russian is very good - something you wouldn't expect from a flick like this. Sometimes the language is almost overly simplistic but the accents are very good.This is a taut thriller - a scary one - and there are scenes which may have you gasping because they're so stark. As in 'Casino was a Bugs Bunny movie'. Something like that. Is this good? That's another matter. A lot of this is lent by Roth's performance - he's a cold blooded killer and he plays it with more the poker face than Hopkins in Remains of the Day.Denouement? Watch for it. When the movie's over you might miss the fact it's over. Is this a highly recommendable flick? Hard to say. Some excellent work here. But will you enjoy it? Benefit by it?That's a much more difficult question.PS. Hey IMDb! Stop correcting our spelling and giving us no chance to correct your incorrect corrections. Suggesting corrections is one thing; forcing them upon us is quite another.