Written and directed by James Gray, Little Odessa is the story of a hitman who returns home to his Russian-immigrant family in New York City as he copes with having to deal with them as he is only in the city to do a job. The film is a study of a man struggling to be there for the family that is estranged from him but also deal with his role in the world of crime. Starring Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Moira Kelly, Maximilian Schell, and Vanessa Redgrave. Little Odessa is a gripping yet somber film from James Gray.
Set in Brooklyn, the film revolves around a Jewish-Russian hitman who is given a job to go to Brooklyn to kill a man that is an enemy to the mob where he finds himself having to meet up with his family including his younger brother and ailing mother. It is really a study of a man trying to cope with the family he’s estranged from as he also struggles with wanting to reconcile with them despite the fact that there’s a lot of issues. James Gray’s screenplay follows Joshua Shapira (Tim Roth) as a hitman that has created a life that has him killing people for money as well as working for the Mafia. Learning about a man who has been giving away information against the Mafia, Joshua learns he has to go to Brooklyn to find that man and kill him as he gather up a few old friends to help him as he also checks on his family as his father Arkady (Maximilian Schell) wants nothing to do with him.
Especially as he doesn’t want his youngest son Reuben (Edward Furlong) to make contact but Reuben is interesting in seeing Joshua as the two would hang out together as well as rekindling a relationship with a former girlfriend in Alla (Moira Kelly). Even though Joshua is eager to get out of Brooklyn and get the job done, he also has to deal with the fact that his mother Irina (Vanessa Redgrave) is dying as he wants to see her forcing himself to meet with his father and call a truce for the sake of Irina. Still, Joshua has a job to do as he starts to ponder about leaving behind this life of crime or continue on this dark path of chaos.
Gray’s direction does have element of style yet it is rooted in the location as much of the film is shot in Brooklyn and other parts of New York City. Yet, Gray would avoid many of the city’s landmarks in favor of grounding it into locations that play into this community where everyone kind of knows each other as well as be diverse no matter how problematic it can be. Though there is an intimacy in Gray’s approach to close-ups and medium shots that includes a lavish dinner party at a restaurant for Arkady’s mother on her 80th birthday. Gray would use some unique wide shots to capture the scope of a location as well as create some gorgeous compositions such as a conversation between Joshua and Alla shot from afar. There is also a scene in the film in which Reuben would witness what Joshua would do as it’s shown in a wide shot as Gray would shoot Reuben in a close-up.
Gray would also showcase the sense of conflict from within as it relates to Joshua in his lone meeting with his mother as it show Joshua’s desire to want to be there for his family but still has to deal with the world of crime. The film’s third act relates to Arkady’s reasons for wanting to disconnect with Joshua as well as why he wants Reuben to stay away from him as he would have a confrontation with his eldest son that would unfortunately lead to the sins of both father and son. Overall, Gray creates a compelling yet riveting film about a hitman returning home for an assignment and to meet with his estranged family.
Cinematographer Tom Richmond does excellent work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of natural lighting for the daytime exterior scenes as well as some stylish lighting and moods for some of the scenes set at night. Editor Dorian Harris does terrific work with the editing as it is stylized for its usage of jump-cuts and fade-outs to play into the drama and suspense. Production designer Kevin Thompson, with set decorator Charles Ford and art director Judy Rhee, does fantastic work with the look of the home that Reuben lives with his parents as well as the restaurant where Arkady is having a party for his mother and the place where Joshua would meet a few of his lowly hoods.
Costume designer Michael Clancy does nice work with the costumes as it is mostly casual to play into the winter coats and hats that many of the characters wear. Sound editors Lewis Goldstein and John A. Larsen do superb work with the sound to play into the sound of gunfire as well as capture the natural atmosphere of the locations as well as the ambiance of the restaurant scene. The film’s music by Dana Sano is wonderful as it is largely a low-key orchestral score that emphasizes heavily on Russian choral music as it help play into the film’s Jewish-Russian location.
The casting by Douglas Aibel is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Mina Bern as Arkady’s mother, David Vadim as an old friend of Joshua in Sasha, Natalya Andreychenko as Arkady’s mistress Natasha, and Paul Guilfoyle as a local mob boss in Boris Volkoff whom Joshua despises. Maximilian Schell is excellent as Joshua and Reuben’s father Arkady as a man who is trying to protect Reuben from Joshua as well as deal with his mother’s illness as well as juggling an affair with a mistress whom he talks to about what he’s dealing with. Vanessa Redgrave is fantastic as Joshua and Reuben’s mother Irina as a woman who is dying from some brain disease as she deals with the severity of her illness as well as seeing Joshua for the first time as she asks him to be at his grandmother’s birthday party as a way to make amends with the family.
Moira Kelly is brilliant as Alla as a former girlfriend of Joshua who is surprised to see him as she isn’t sure about rekindling a relationship with him but also wonders if they could have a future. Edward Furlong is amazing as Reuben as a teenage boy who is surprised to see his older brother as he wonders why his father despises Joshua as well as deal with some dark realities including the world of crime which he isn’t sure he wants to be a part of. Finally, there’s Tim Roth in an incredible performance as Joshua Shapira as a hitman who takes an assignment that would force him to return home as he deals with not just his estranged family but also begin a relationship with his younger brother as well as the world of crime he’s in where he copes with the impact of his actions.
Little Odessa is a remarkable film from James Gray. Featuring a great cast, a compelling story on family and ambition, and gritty setting that play into the world of the Russian mob. The film is definitely a low-key crime drama that explores a man returning home but also deal with the world he’s in and why he is unable to escape it. In the end, Little Odessa is a marvelous film from James Gray.
James Gray Films: The Yards – We Own the Night – Two Lovers – The Immigrant (2013 film) - The Lost City of Z – Ad Astra - The Auteurs #67: James Gray
© thevoid99 2017
Directed by Thomas McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer, Spotlight is the story of reporters for The Boston Globe who uncover a major scandal involving sexual abuse of children in the hands of Catholic priests in Boston in 2002. The film is a dramatization of the events that would shake up the world of Catholicism in the hands of a group of journalists who struggle with their own upbringing as well as uncovering the truth to an entire city. Starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schrieber, Brian d’Arcy James, Billy Crudup, John Slattery, and Stanley Tucci. Spotlight is a riveting and exhilarating film from Thomas McCarthy.
Set from the summer of 2001 to early 2002 in Boston at The Boston Globe, the film revolves the famed Spotlight investigative journalist team who are asked by the paper’s new editor to do a story about a sex abuse scandal involving a Catholic priest at a parish in Boston. There, the journalists not only uncover more about what happened but also cover-ups and the fact that they themselves had a chance to tell the story years ago but never did. It’s a film that isn’t just about a sex scandal involving priests who abused children for many years in Boston but also the fact that the Catholic church in Boston was willing to cover up and do things in their power to pretend that it never happened. Even as the journalists try to figure out what are they hiding as they realize that this is bigger than one priest but an entire city that was involved and maybe the entire world.
The film’s screenplay by Thomas McCarthy and Josh Singer opens with a chilling scene of priest making a settlement with lawyers over a sex scandal which establishes what is common in Boston that people know but don’t want to talk about. It then cuts to the arrival of new Boston Globe editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) who is aware that he has to gain the trust of the staff including the Spotlight team where he asks them to follow-up on a column about a sex abuse scandal from a Catholic priest. Leading the Spotlight team is Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton) who is joined by Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), and Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James) as they were looking for something to do where Rezendes would try to talk to attorney Mitchell Garabedian (Stanley Tucci) is reluctant to talk publicly to Rezendes yet eventually reveals what is at stake.
With the team talking to victims as well as revelations that they had a chance to tell the story years ago when Robinson was part of the team. While Robinson does admit guilt on his own part for not taking the chance to cover the story, he would redeem himself in not just going further once it becomes clear that the story is bigger than one parish but rather a whole city. Especially as it becomes clear that many who work for the paper are Catholic where they seem to know what is happening but they are either too scared to reveal what happened or are in denial. By the film’s third act where it becomes clear that there is evidence to get one priest to finally confess about his actions. Robinson realizes that it’s not one name they need to go after but the almost 100 names that they’ve uncovered including one living in Carroll’s neighborhood.
McCarthy’s direction is quite engaging for the way it plays into the atmosphere of the newspaper world where many are struggling with the new age of internet news and the decline of print. Even as it plays into events such as 9/11 as the world of the newspaper and journalism is a very busy one where many colleagues talk and socialize about what stories to tell. McCarthy’s usage of tracking shots, wide, and medium shots don’t just play into that atmosphere but also help flesh out the drama where the camera would pull back in scenes where the Spotlight team try to gather whatever they can use to tell the story. While McCarthy does use close-ups for some intimate moments where the characters talk to victims or what they do in their personal lives as it relates to Pfeiffer accompany her grandmother to church on Sundays. It helps establish not just what kind of city Boston is but also why it has this very unique relationship with the Catholic church.
McCarthy would also know how to build up drama such as a scene where Rezendes gains access to old testimonial records with the aid of Garabedian as he tells the team that they should unleash the story now. Yet, it becomes clear that these scandals have taken a personal toll for the team as well as one of its key editors in Ben Bradlee Jr. (John Slattery) who admit to being a lapse Catholic. Even as there are those who were thinking about returning to church to regain some idea of faith but the scandal has damaged that faith as they aren’t sure if revealing this to the city would destroy all of that for those who still believe in the church. It adds to the dramatic conflict as the decision that is made doesn’t just hit home for the entire team but would also for an entire city and maybe the entire world. Overall, McCarthy creates a chilling yet visceral drama about a group of newspaper journalists uncovering a sexual abuse scandal in their home city.
Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the usage of natural lights for many of the daytime exteriors as well as the usage of lights for the scenes set at night in the interior/exterior settings. Editor Tom McArdle does amazing work with the editing as it‘s mostly straightforward with a few jump-cuts for dramatic purposes as well as montages to play into the team at work. Production designer Stephen H. Carter, with set decorator Shane Vieau and art director Michaela Cheyne, does fantastic work with the look of the set of The Boston Globe building as well as the room where the Spotlight team works at plus the home of a few characters in the film.
Costume designer Wendy Chuck does terrific work with the costumes as a lot of it is casual with the exception of the clothes that some of the priests and cardinals wear. Visual effects supervisor Colin Davies does nice work with the minimal visual effects in the film which is essentially set dressing for some of the exteriors to make the city look like Boston circa-2001. Sound designer Paul Hsu does superb work with the sound to play into the atmosphere of the rooms at the Boston Globe to the machines where the papers are printed and other parts of the city. The film’s music by Howard Shore is brilliant for its very low-key piano score that has a few orchestral flourishes as it‘s mostly straightforward to play into the drama as well as the heaviness of what is happening while music supervisor Mary Ramos provides a more low-key soundtrack filled with bands based on Boston that only appears in the background.
The casting by Kerry Barden, John Buchan, Jason Knight, and Paul Schnee is incredible as it features some notable small roles from Neal Huff as one of the victims in Phil Savino, Len Cariou as Cardinal Bernard Law whom Baron meets early in the film, Paul Guilfoyle as one of the people involved with the church in Peter Conley, Jamey Sheridan as one of the church’s attorneys in Jim Sullivan whom Robertson knows, Maureen Keiller as columnist Eileen McNamara who would create the column that would start the investigation, Gene Amoroso as investigative reporter Stephen Kurkjian, Richard Jenkins as the voice of a noted psychiatrist for the victims, and Billy Crudup as attorney Eric MacLeish who is reluctant to reveal the settlements he took part in as well as reveal some revelations about the paper. John Slattery is fantastic as Ben Bradlee Jr. as one of the editors of the Globe who tries to make sure everything Spotlight does is under wraps where he realizes how big the story is prompting to get Baron on their side.
Stanley Tucci is excellent as Mitchell Garabedian as a man who is trying to defend the victims as he is reluctant to provide information because of the church where he gives Rezendes tips about what to find. Liev Schreiber is brilliant as Marty Baron as the new editor-in-chief who tries to understand more about the world of the Catholic church in Boston as he is a Jewish man trying to see what is going on where he learns more about what is really happening prompting him to put more support on Spotlight. Brian d’Arcy James is superb as Matt Carroll as a Spotlight reporter who helps piece many of the stories and sources that happens while making a chilling discovery about how close to home the scandal is at.
Rachel McAdams is amazing as Sacha Pfeiffer as a Spotlight reporter who talks to the victims in the streets while she would also talk to a former priest only to realize more of what is happening as she copes with how the news will affect her grandmother. Mark Ruffalo is phenomenal as Michael Rezendes as a Spotlight reporter who meets with Garabedian where he would go into the records with Carroll and Robertson where he would later uncover a major breakthrough for the story. Finally, there’s Michael Keaton in a remarkable performance as Walter “Robby” Robertson as the Spotlight chief who leads the charge where he would make some revelations into what he discovered as well as carry the guilt that he had the chance to reveal it years ago where he realizes the chance to do things right for himself and for Boston.
Spotlight is a tremendous film from Thomas McCarthy. Featuring a great ensemble cast, an intriguing story, well-crafted direction, and top-notch technical work, the film isn’t just a fascinating newspaper drama. It’s a film that explores people coping with something they either knew or didn’t want to know as they try to find a way to expose it to their city and the world in the hopes that something like this never happens again. In the end, Spotlight is a sensational film from Thomas McCarthy.
Thomas McCarthy Films: (The Station Agent) - The Visitor - Win Win - (The Cobbler)
© thevoid99 2015
Written and directed by Lisa Krueger, Manny & Lo is the story of two sisters who run away from foster homes as they trek to find places to crash until the oldest learns she is pregnant as they kidnap a baby store clerk to help them. The film is a coming-of-age tale where two sisters deal with the need to find a maternal figure as well as coping with growing pains as they’re respectively played by Scarlett Johansson and Aleksa Palladino. Also starring Mary Kay Place, Glenn Fitzgerald, and Paul Guilfoyle. Manny & Lo is a charming and captivating film from Lisa Krueger.
The film revolves around two sisters who both run away from different fosters home as they go on a road trip where they crash into houses that haven’t been sold while shoplift or do whatever to survive. When the eldest Lo learns she is pregnant as she and her younger sister Manny hide out in the country, they kidnap a baby store clerk due to her knowledge about babies despite the fact that she has no children. While it’s a story that is quite simple, it does play into many aspects about what these two young girls want from this eccentric woman named Elaine (Mary Kay Place) by taking her to this house in the middle of the woods as she becomes a profound influence for the two young girls. Lisa Krueger’s screenplay is largely told from the perspective of Manny as she is this 11-year old girl who is very mature for her age as she copes with Lo’s immaturity and sense of danger. While it’s clear the two are in need of a maternal figure, there is a conflict about whether they should have Elaine around as she is quite odd and doesn’t seem to mind getting kidnapped.
Krueger’s direction maintains that air of simplicity in the story as she mostly goes for shots that are quite entrancing in its usage of medium shots and close-ups. Shot on location in rural areas in New Jersey as well as nearby small towns, it’s a film that has the sense of wandering that is often prevalent in road movies but it’s mixed in with this coming-of-age tone that allows the story to be more compelling. Even in the way Krueger would shoot a few wide shots shown from the perspective of the two where they observe a location or a group of people. Some of it is played for laughs while it’s mainly a light-hearted in terms of the relationship between Elaine and the two girls. It does get more dramatic in the third act when it becomes clear of how much the girls need Elaine. Overall, Krueger creates a very engaging and touching film about two runaway sisters looking for a home and a maternal figure.
Cinematographer Tom Krueger does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the colorful yet naturalistic look of the daytime exterior/interior locations with some unique lighting for some scenes set at night. Editor Colleen Sharp does nice work as the editing is very straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into the humor and drama. Production designer Sharon Lomofsky and set decorator Dina Goldman do terrific work with the look of the country home that Manny and Lo had found as it has that remoteness that they‘re looking for.
Costume designer Jennifer Parker does wonderful work with the costumes from the white nurse uniform that Elaine wears to the more casual look of Manny and Lo. Sound editor Richard King does superb work with the sound to play into the low-key sound of the locations as well as the way music is heard on location. The film’s music by John Lurie is fantastic as it is this mixture of folk-based music with elements of vibraphones and keyboards as it is very low key while the soundtrack features elements of punk and metal plus soul music from LaBelle.
The casting by Ellen Parks is brilliant as it features some notable small roles from Cameron Boyd as a young boy Manny befriends, Glenn Fitzgerald as Lo’s boyfriend Joey who tries to do nice things for her, and Paul Guilfoyle as the owner of the country house who appears in its third act. Mary Kay Place is amazing as Elaine as this baby store clerk who knows a lot about what babies want as she helps Lo with her pregnancy while getting to know Manny. Aleksa Palladino is excellent as Lo as this 16-year old woman who is dealing with being pregnant as she is always aggressive and trying to keep things in control as she realizes that she needs Elaine.
Finally, there’s Scarlett Johansson in an incredible performance as Manny as it’s Johansson in one of her earlier performances. It’s a performance where Johansson has this very evocative quality where she is this 11-year old girl who is always being observing while trying to figure out what to do as she is clearly more mature than Lo as it’s just a real breakthrough for someone who would become one of cinema’s finest actresses.
Manny & Lo is a remarkable film from Lisa Krueger that features superb performances from Aleksa Palladino and Mary Kay Place as well as a mesmerizing performance from a young Scarlett Johansson. The film is definitely a unique genre-bending film as it’s part road-film mixed in with a coming-of-age drama that also has elements of humor. In the end, Manny & Lo is a sensational film from Lisa Krueger.
© thevoid99 2014
