Line #20 Film/LittleOdessa

Context Film / LittleOdessa

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6	[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/little_odessa_poster.jpg]]
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8	''Little Odessa'' is a 1994 American movie about the Russian-Jewish immigrant community in Brighton Beach and the bad things that happen to one particular DysfunctionalFamily. It consists of Arkady, the adulterous father who makes ends meet working at a newsstand; his wife, dying of a brain tumor; and the younger son Reuben, a soft-spoken, clever boy intent on cutting school, smoking weed, and watching movies. There is also an elder son, Joshua (Creator/TimRoth), who is a hitman for the [[TheMafiya Russian Mafia]] and was therefore banished from home. He has to return to Brooklyn to off an Iranian jeweller, and awkwardly tries to make peace with his family in the process. [[{{Tragedy}} It does not go well]].
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11	!!This film provides examples of:
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13	* AloofBigBrother: Joshua
14	* BigRottenApple: At least in regards to Brighton Beach/Little Odessa.
15	* BilingualBonus: Yiddish and Russian, though the pronunciation is often off.
16	* BlackSheep: Joshua's criminal ways lead to him becoming rejected by his father.
17	* CallingTheOldManOut: Joshua to his dad several times throughout the movie, with increasing violence.
18	* CityNoir: NYC is bleak and cold and people shoot each other in broad daylight.
19	* DownerEnding
20	* DullSurprise: the expression worn by the protagonist for the length of the entire film.
21	* FakeRussian: Everybody except for some minor characters.
22	* HappyPlace: the final scene sees Joshua sitting alone in his car and imagining his mother, brother and himself sitting quietly together in the bedroom. This is never to be since [[spoiler:both his mother and brother die]].
23	* HarmfulToMinors: Reuben witnessing his brother on his, er, job, and subsequently arming himself.
24	* HitmanWithAHeart (albeit a very cold heart)
25	* IneffectualLoner: Joshua.
26	* KosherNostra / TheMafiya
27	* MoralityPet: Reuben and his mother for the protagonist.
28	* ObliviousYoungerSibling
29	* ProfessionalKiller: the hitmen are uniformly dressed like [[{{Delinquents}} greasers]] and have to make ends meet in a sucky, bleak, poor neighbourhood.
30	* SatelliteLoveInterest: Alla, Joshua's ex. To compensate, the actress is pretty and does her job well.
31	* SiblingYinYang: Joshua is cold, violent and not overly bright; Reuben is caring and intelligent.
32	* SnoopingLittleKid: Reuben. He reads his father's mail and meddles in his brother's affairs, and it doesn't [[DownerEnding end well for him]].
33	%%* TheMafiya
34	* TheQuietOne: Joshua does not do much talking.
35	%%* YiddishAsASecondLanguage

Context Film / LittleOdessa