Saw this film by chance on HBO, mostly just to see what it was about and not really planning to see it all the way and I found myself watching the whole thing as it turned out to be a truly remarkable film. As written in the plot outline, the story is about a worker at a nuclear facility who gets contaminated with plutonium.
Though the actual movie is about what happens after the man is exposed, since the scene where he gets infected is actually only the first 5 minutes of the movie. The film goes back and forth between the story of this man, Timofey, and a seemingly unimportant situation that arises between a group of three incompetent thugs. Soon enough, we witness one of these thugs, Shiv, as his own story is revealed, create some depth into a character one might think was utterly unimportant. The plot of the movie revolves around the fact that Timofey, after being laid off from his work without pay and no compensation even after his exposure to the plutonium, specifically PU-236 after which the film is named, decides to steal 100 grams of plutonium from the same facility he works at.
As for the acting, I say that the entire cast does a quite good job at giving us a glimpse into this underworld at the other side of the world that really isn't that different from our own. Timofey's narration, though it seemed strange at first, as the story developed gave us insight not only into his mind but to some very true in the facts of life. As for Radha Mitchell, who was the only actress I recognized in the ensemble, though that does not make the film any weaker by obscurity of the rest, turns in a subtle and shrewd performance that in my opinion really brings a lot of emotional depth into the film to add to Timofey's story. The film is not without its funny moments which are delivered by the incompetent thugs as well as Shiv.
I will also take note of the score of the film for its subtlety since it is truly barely noticeable though at the same time truly brilliant.
One cannot really say what this movie will say to you or if you will get anything from it at all. In my case, it moved me incredibly and brought about a whole new outlook on some issues that I'm sure many know absolutely nothing about. As mentioned before, Timothy's narration brings about some very memorable quotes and I'm surprised none have been added yet to the Plot & Quotes section.
I'm not sure if this movie is currently available anywhere else other than HBO, but if you do manage to come by it, I HIGHLY recommend it and I'm sure that the ending alone makes it worth the watch.
Though the actual movie is about what happens after the man is exposed, since the scene where he gets infected is actually only the first 5 minutes of the movie. The film goes back and forth between the story of this man, Timofey, and a seemingly unimportant situation that arises between a group of three incompetent thugs. Soon enough, we witness one of these thugs, Shiv, as his own story is revealed, create some depth into a character one might think was utterly unimportant. The plot of the movie revolves around the fact that Timofey, after being laid off from his work without pay and no compensation even after his exposure to the plutonium, specifically PU-236 after which the film is named, decides to steal 100 grams of plutonium from the same facility he works at.
As for the acting, I say that the entire cast does a quite good job at giving us a glimpse into this underworld at the other side of the world that really isn't that different from our own. Timofey's narration, though it seemed strange at first, as the story developed gave us insight not only into his mind but to some very true in the facts of life. As for Radha Mitchell, who was the only actress I recognized in the ensemble, though that does not make the film any weaker by obscurity of the rest, turns in a subtle and shrewd performance that in my opinion really brings a lot of emotional depth into the film to add to Timofey's story. The film is not without its funny moments which are delivered by the incompetent thugs as well as Shiv.
I will also take note of the score of the film for its subtlety since it is truly barely noticeable though at the same time truly brilliant.
One cannot really say what this movie will say to you or if you will get anything from it at all. In my case, it moved me incredibly and brought about a whole new outlook on some issues that I'm sure many know absolutely nothing about. As mentioned before, Timothy's narration brings about some very memorable quotes and I'm surprised none have been added yet to the Plot & Quotes section.
I'm not sure if this movie is currently available anywhere else other than HBO, but if you do manage to come by it, I HIGHLY recommend it and I'm sure that the ending alone makes it worth the watch.