The Half Life of Timofey Berezin (PU-239) (2006)
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57% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
53% want to see it
(805 ratings)
First-time writer/director Scott Burns spins this suspenseful yarn about a nuclear technician who has a curious encounter with a notoriously violent Russian gangster (Nikolaj Lie Kaas). The year is 1995, and Timofey (Paddy Considine) is a nuclear power-plant worker in post-Soviet Russia. After being… More First-time writer/director Scott Burns spins this suspenseful yarn about a nuclear technician who has a curious encounter with a notoriously violent Russian gangster (Nikolaj Lie Kaas). The year is 1995, and Timofey (Paddy Considine) is a nuclear power-plant worker in post-Soviet Russia. After being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation while working to avert a disaster, Timofey discovers that the authorities have deliberately misled him about the severity of his exposure, and that he will likely die in just a few days. Determined to provide for his wife (Radha Mitchell) and young son before he succumbs to the effects of radiation, Timofey absconds with a small amount of weapons grade plutonium, straps the vial to his body, and makes his way to Moscow in hopes of making a quick and profitable sale in the criminal underground. This is the "new Russia," where everything has its price, and Timofey is determined to secure his family's future even if he himself has none. Oscar Issac and Jason Flemyng co-star in a film produced by Section Eight and Beacon Pictures for HBO Films, and distributed by Picturehouse. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Directed By
- Scott Z. Burns
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Drama
- Studio
- Picturehouse
Critic Reviews
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Eddie Cockrell, Variety
Imagine anticipating a Ken Loach film and being shown a Guy Ritchie movie.
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John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
Solidly made, timely and spotlighting a fine performance by Paddy Considine.
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Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
An environmentally minded, politically charged thriller. The way that life ends with a whimper, not a bang, in a Russia even more fissured by self-interest, is heartbreaking.
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Matt McKillop, Filmcritic.com
a minor-key drama
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Jason Gorber, Film Scouts
It's a quirky mix of incompetent bureaucrats and small time gangsters trying to carve a life in the new Russia.
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