The Half Life of Timofey Berezin (2006)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Scott Z. Burns

Writers (WGA):

Scott Z. Burns (screenplay)
Ken Kalfus (short story "PU-239")

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

His family's future depends on one unstable element.

Plot:

A worker at a Russian nuclear facility gets exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. In order to provide for his family, he steals some plutonium and sets out to sell it on Moscow's black market with the help of an incompetent criminal. |

Plot Keywords:

Black Market | Plutonium | Terminal Illness | Russia | Radiation Poisoning

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Paddy Considine	...	Timofey
Oscar Isaac	...	Shiv
Valeriu Pavel Dan	...	Red Army Hero
Kenneth Bryans	...	Prusokov
Radha Mitchell	...	Marina
Danya Baryshnikov	...	Tolya
Connor McIntyre	...	Facility Director
Derek Hutchinson	...	Facility Deputy
Jason Flemyng	...	Vlad
Jordan Long	...	Yegor
Xenia Alina Grigore	...	Lap Girl
Mélanie Thierry	...	Oxsana
Constantin Barbulescu	...	Dmitri
Oana Cojocaru	...	Svetlana
Stefan Iancu	...	Andrei

Also Known As:

Pu-239 (International: English title) (new title) (USA) (new title)
PU-239 (USA) (working title (TV title))

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violence, sexual content and brief drug use.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA | Argentina:18 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Beacon Pictures

Goofs:

Plot holes: Tim states many times that his hometown is not on the map, which makes it impossible to send his letter home.

Quotes:

Shiv: You know who wore hat like this?
Andrei: No.
Shiv: Jesse James.
Andrei: Jesse James!
[mimicking pistols with hands]
Shiv: Jesse James. He wore hat just like this. He only stole from rich people, so he really wasn't a thief. He'd go into a rough place like Chicago or Brooklyn and do business.
Andrei: Like you?
Shiv: [nodding] The CIA chased him for years. Whenever Jesse Jackson needed a car he stole one.
Andrei: Jesse James?
Shiv: What did I say?
[...]

Soundtrack:

Don't Forget

Recurring themes and great films

I don't know what it is this weekend, but I have tasted films from France (La Haine), Korea (Boksuneun naui geot), Canada (Eve and the Fire Horse), and now, Romania, albeit a US film. Three have revenge themes, two have multicultural themes, two deal with needed kidney transplants, and they all deal with family. There are many things in these films that make you want to think and think hard. Sure, there is also a lot of humor, but it never gets in the way of the themes.

Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum, Hot Fuzz) gets screwed big-time at work. He is exposed to 1000 rems of plutonium. He knows he only has days to live and his bosses are not interested in doing anything but covering their butts. Sound familiar? Anyway, he steals 100 grams of PU-236 to help his family.

At the same time, there are three low-level thugs who are also dying. They have 72 hours to pay off the big boss for their mistake. One of them, Shiv (Oscar Isaac) comes in contact with Timofey, and stumbles through a plan to solve both their problems.

A comedy of errors ensues with Shiv's partners, Jason Flemyng (The Red Violin, Transporter 2) and Jordan Long. These two are just about the dumbest thieves in the business and they get a fantastic high at the end that will have you rolling on the floor.

Comedy and tragedy mix well in Scott Z. Burns's (The Bourne Ultimatum, An Inconvenient Truth) film. It is a shame that it probably won't get a theatrical release.

And, it's a real treat to see Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill, Man on Fire).