Thursday, September 14, 2006

The Half Life of Timofey Berezin

THE HALF LIFE OF TIMOFEY BEREZIN (2006) - Sept. 14, 2006
This was odd. For the first half or so, it almost feels like two different films: there's the stuff with the father who, in an accident at work, gets a lethal case of radiation poisoning, and then there's the Guy Ritchie-esque stuff with three bumbling gangsters trying to raise six thousand dollars for their boss. The plots do eventually converge, and it isn't quite as jarring as you'd think it would be (the gangster story becomes a bit more serious to match the tone of the radiation story). It was interesting, but I'm not entirely sure it worked; I think I'd rather have one story or the other (preferably the serious one, because the gangster stuff wasn't exactly fresh). Paddy Constantine, as the man with radiation poisoning, was almost certainly the highlight, as he gave a really excellent performance. **1/2

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