Little Odessa

Josh (Roth) can't enter the Russian Jewish area of Brighton Beach, New York, where he grew up, so he makes his hits elsewhere. A contract on a jeweller, nevertheless, forces him back. There he fences with his kid brother, who loves him; his father, who certainly doesn't; his ailing mother, whom he loves beyond words; and a girl... The film has a thesis: hitmen must have psychopathy on their CVs; but even bad guys have souls. It's Roth's tough job to illustrate this, which, in his finest performance to date, he does magnificently. James Gray, aged 25, directs this dark, spare piece - his first feature - as to the manor born.