More than plutonium or black market deals, this is about the responsibility a father feels toward his son.
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There is a joke in "Pu-239," maybe the only joke in the entire film, centering on the pronunciation of the title element (weapons grade plutonium, in case you didn´t know). Former nuclear power planet worker Timofey (Paddy Considine) is trying to sell a very small amount of the plutonium in an outdoor Russian market. He is holding a sign labeled, unsurprisingly, Pu-239. Local thug Shiv (Oscar Isaac) asks what "Poo-239" is. After a moment, Shiv starts shouting, asking the shoppers if they want to buy any "poo." Juvenile humor? Sure. But this moment-intended or not-lightens the mood, giving the film a brief levity to counteract the dark and depressing remaining 90-ish minutes.
When an accident at a top secret facility subjects family man Timofey to massive doses of radiation, he takes it upon himself to plan for his wife and son. He decides to steal the plutonium and sell it to the highest bidder in Moscow. Problem is he gets mixed up with Shiv, who owes $3,000 for blowing up the wrong storefront for his boss after the owner doesn´t pay the protection fee. When these two get together, both fathers and desperate, nothing good results.
"Pu-239" has a fascinating pedigree. Peter Berg (both televised versions of "Friday Night Lights"), Steven Soderbergh (the "Ocean´s" flicks) and George Clooney are all counted as executive producers here. Director Scott Z. Burns wrote the last Jason Bourne installment. Both Considine and Radha Mitchell, who plays his wife Marina, can count mainstream Hollywood films on their credits (him in "The Bourne Ultimatum" and she was in "Finding Neverland," among others). I mention these names to demonstrate a lineage, a track record of accomplished writers, directors, actors and producers both in front of and behind the camera. And to mention how the adapted screenplay falls completely apart by pairing Shiv and Timofey for the majority of the second half of the production.
Not that either is a bad actor; they aren´t, especially Isaac in only his third credited acting role. He plays Shiv with all the false bravado we would expect of the character: a young man with a moral compass trying to do the right thing, yet also stuck in a role he doesn´t want. That´s never clearer than at the end of the film when Timofey and Shiv discuss their son´s. Specifically, what they would do for them. You see, every action (or non action) is designed to look out for the children. Timofey because he wants his to have money for a future; Shiv wants to be there for his son (he is threatened with death if the restitution money isn´t paid). Yet the kids take a back seat to what essentially becomes a buddy movie in the end.
While our emotions are piqued for Timofey as he goes through the stages of radiation poisoning, for some reason he never coalesces into a real person. Marina never fully grasps the situation, based on Mitchell´s performance, though she should according to the dialogue. She´s oddly detached from everything going on around her. The one moment of when it all appears to come together is at the end. Again, though, we wonder if she truly gets it or is just posturing. Even a scene in which she talks to Timofey for the last time is devoid of any heart, most likely because they are being listened to. We miss too many of the pieces to form a coherent family life for them. As such, they´re all people we don´t get emotionally attached to.
Deep down, when Timofey initially hatches his plan, we know nothing good can come of it. So it´s really no surprise when…nothing good comes of it. With each passing minute, particularly as night falls in Moscow, his goal becomes more and more distant. We feel that on a basic level. Not only has Timofey failed himself, but also his family while, at the same time, Shiv has failed his own son. More than plutonium or black market deals, "Pu-239" is about the responsibility a father feels toward his son. Strip away the half hearted attempts at comic relief-they don´t work-or the nearly misogynistic (though true) attitudes toward women in Russia. The rest, as far as I´m concerned, is filler, a reason for ostensibly making the movie.
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