A film can be very good and at the same time most unlikely to bring smile on the faces of people who watch it. One of the more extreme examples is Little Odessa, 1994 crime drama written and directed by James Gray.
Main character, played by Tim Roth, is Joshua Shapira, professional assassin. After his latest job he is ordered to take out Iranian jeweller in Brooklyn. Joshua is very reluctant to do so before this would make him revisit his old neighbourhood of Brighton Beach, nicknamed “Little Odessa” because of large number of immigrants from Russia, Ukraine and other ex-Soviet countries, predominantly Jewish. Joshua has very good reasons to stay away from it, because local Russian mob boss Boris Volkov (played by Paul Guilfoyle) considers him responsible for death of his son. He is nevertheless spotted by an old friend who contacts Joshua’s younger brother Reuben (played by Edward Furlong). Reuben tracks down Joshua in hotel and tells him that their mother Irina (played by Vanessa Redgrave) is dying from brain tumour. Joshua decides to visit his old family home and in doing so confronts his abusive father Arkady (played by Maximillian Shell) who had banished him. Two men make temporary truce and Joshua is allowed to spend some time with dying woman. While he hangs out in the neighbourhood, he also spots ex girlfriend Alla Shustervich (played by Moira Kelly) and rekindles romance with her. He prepares for his job, recruiting his old friends to help him while trying to evade Volkov and his goons, but the real danger from him comes from some unsettled scores within his own family.
Little Odessa represented feature film debut for Gray, who was 25 years old at the time. Made with relatively small budget and independent production, which was becoming fashionable at the time, it won many critics and, most importantly, jury at Venice Film Festival where Gray received Silver Lion for his directorial work. The main reason for such success could be found in general tone and style which looked quite refreshing compared with the most of gangster films at the time. Gray, whose ancestors were like the protagonist’s family, Jewish emigrants from Russia, gave very specific ethnic flavour to the story by having characters at occasion speaking Russian and the very few musical pieces used in film being traditional Russian chorals. He also gave very original and unusual depiction of the neighbourhood that looks like it doesn’t even belong to what most people associate with New York City. There aren’t any skyscrapers in the film (except seen from large distance) and cold and snowy weather often makes Brighton Beach look like a part of Russia. Unlike so young film makers in 1990s, Gray uses very cold and disciplined style of direction without quick cuts and allowing particular scenes to develop in a slow and natural way.
Gray’s vision is also unusually bleak for this sort of film. Characters are dysfunctional, either because of abuse, poor life choices and some unpleasant economic and political circumstances. This is enhanced through cinematography by Tom Richmond which insists on dark tones. But the most impressive element of Little Odessa is formidable cast. It includes “Oscar”-winning veterans like Vanessa Redgrave who is very good as dying mother; she is accompanied by Maximilian Schell as an former intellectual whose American Dream turned into nightmare, relegating him to the role of street vendor and seeing one son turned into criminal, while another taking his steps. Tim Roth, who was, thanks to Tarantino’s films, at the height of his popularity, delivers another great performance in very unusual role in which he speaks very little; he portrays Joshua as capable assassin but someone who, even by his admission, isn’t particularly bright and who would ultimately, despite his best efforts, bring misery to all people he actually cares about. Edward Furlong, who was trying very hard to expand his range after triumphant role in Terminator 2 is also very good in the role of teenager who makes terrible mistakes by idolising older brother, something very similar to character he would later play in American History X. Moira Kelly is also very good in role of young woman who, like Joshua, isn’t very bright and who gets confused by his arrival.
Little Odessa is very good film, but it has its flaws, which are more visible after few decades and many films that had dealt with similar issues. The most obvious is over-melodramatic and predictably violent ending, which includes final scene with strange symbolism that was supposed to associate fate of Shapira family with Holocaust. Gray, however, kept his film relatively short and many true cinephiles would appreciate despite its exploration of dark subjects and generally bleak tone.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
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