Arriving on 4K UHD this week from Criterion is James Gray’s 1994 crime drama Little Odessa, starring Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Moira Kelly, Maximilian Schell, and Vanessa Redgrave. This was a first-time viewing for me. While I’ve been aware of the film for nearly 30 years, I simply never got around to watching it, despite being a longtime fan of Tim Roth—especially ’90s Tim Roth.
Joshua Shapira (Roth) has been estranged from his family for years. Being a hitman can be tough on the family. Joshua works for the Russian-Jewish mafia and, when he is called back to Brooklyn, New York, for a job, he tries to avoid being seen—including by his own family. When his younger brother, Reuben (Furlong), learns that Joshua is in town, he tracks him down at his hotel. Despite not wanting to see their abusive father (Schell), Reuben convinces Joshua to visit their ailing mother (Redgrave), who doesn’t have much time left.
Unfortunately, the quiet moments Joshua shares with his mother don’t last long, as the inevitable confrontation with his father is just around the corner.
Roth excels at playing hot-tempered characters with an itchy trigger finger. He has done it numerous times, and while the films themselves vary in quality, his performances rarely do. While I never completely bought Roth and Furlong as brothers, I was able to look past that because of how well everything else works here.
Little Odessa is both dreary and beautiful. Gray has always had a remarkable ability to find beauty in the grime, and that talent is on full display here. The film isn’t as flashy as many of the other mafia-themed movies of the ’90s, but it has a distinctive style all its own—and it’s all the better for it.
The new 2160p restoration was supervised and approved by James Gray, and it looks terrific. This is a dark and gritty film, and thankfully, the blacks are deep and rich. Presented in Dolby Vision, the New York environments look incredibly detailed, bringing out the textures and atmosphere of the film. The 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio track handles the dialogue-heavy feature nicely.
If you’re a fan of the film and/or James Gray, I highly recommend picking up this release. Little Odessa is an impressive debut and a welcome addition to Criterion’s 4K UHD lineup.
Bonus Features:
- New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director James Gray, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary from 2000 featuring Gray
- Once Upon a Time . . . “Little Odessa,” a making-of documentary by David Thompson produced for French television
- New conversation between Gray and critic and podcaster Sean Fennessey
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Glenn Kenny
