First We Take Brooklyn is quite a gritty, visceral movie. Taking a totally different direction than most mainstream gangster movies, it tells the story of Mikki, a violent ex-con recently released from prison in Israel who goes to America to make his life better.
The Jewish Brooklyn patois that pervades the movie is quite different and refreshing without the cliched black or Italian influence. Some might dislike the use of subtitles, but they add a degree of authenticity to many conversations that would otherwise be a little flat if spoken in English.
Harvey Keitel plays a good supporting role as the Russian mob boss as does Edoardo Ballerini as his son, Dimitri. Annalynne McChord plays the gorgeous Esther alongside a very nervous brother Arik, played by Sasha Feldman.
The movie's principal star is Danny A. Abeckaser, who also directed and produced this low-budget piece, playing the role of Mikki.
All the actors really nailed their respective roles in my opinion and, given the predominantly US locations (excepting the opening minutes in Israel), the film's budget didn't detract from this. I'm guessing Abeckaser has called in a few favours as all seem really involved and committed to their respective roles.
One minor complaint would be the time shifts within the movie. Some are for artistic use such as the cab ride starting in Israel and concluding in Brooklyn, but others seem to jar a little. One minute Mikki is a newly arrived immigrant, the next, he's wheeling and dealing with the big guys. Perhaps a longer movie might have added some meat to these scenes, although some might complain that it would be padding.
The only thing that didn't sit well with me was the ending. Sure, Mikki was a violent thug who led the life and died appropriately, but the abruptness and rolling credits moment's later didn't tie anything up for my mind. The duplicitous Avi, played by Guri Weinberg ambushes our hero, but that's it. Nothing on how the Russians reacted to this peace offering, nothing on how Esther reacted, especially given her pregnancy, not even any real emotion from Avi, beyond badgering Arik into sorting out the ambush.
In closing, The Godfather or Scarface it ain't, but then it didn't have half those iconic films' budgets. This is an excellent movie and I'm interested to see what else Danny Abeckaser can come up with in the future.
The Jewish Brooklyn patois that pervades the movie is quite different and refreshing without the cliched black or Italian influence. Some might dislike the use of subtitles, but they add a degree of authenticity to many conversations that would otherwise be a little flat if spoken in English.
Harvey Keitel plays a good supporting role as the Russian mob boss as does Edoardo Ballerini as his son, Dimitri. Annalynne McChord plays the gorgeous Esther alongside a very nervous brother Arik, played by Sasha Feldman.
The movie's principal star is Danny A. Abeckaser, who also directed and produced this low-budget piece, playing the role of Mikki.
All the actors really nailed their respective roles in my opinion and, given the predominantly US locations (excepting the opening minutes in Israel), the film's budget didn't detract from this. I'm guessing Abeckaser has called in a few favours as all seem really involved and committed to their respective roles.
One minor complaint would be the time shifts within the movie. Some are for artistic use such as the cab ride starting in Israel and concluding in Brooklyn, but others seem to jar a little. One minute Mikki is a newly arrived immigrant, the next, he's wheeling and dealing with the big guys. Perhaps a longer movie might have added some meat to these scenes, although some might complain that it would be padding.
The only thing that didn't sit well with me was the ending. Sure, Mikki was a violent thug who led the life and died appropriately, but the abruptness and rolling credits moment's later didn't tie anything up for my mind. The duplicitous Avi, played by Guri Weinberg ambushes our hero, but that's it. Nothing on how the Russians reacted to this peace offering, nothing on how Esther reacted, especially given her pregnancy, not even any real emotion from Avi, beyond badgering Arik into sorting out the ambush.
In closing, The Godfather or Scarface it ain't, but then it didn't have half those iconic films' budgets. This is an excellent movie and I'm interested to see what else Danny Abeckaser can come up with in the future.