James Gray’s zeal for the operatic was evident from the start of his career.

Little Odessa is the kind of tragedy where the father always forgets the syrup.

[Little Odessa] is neither a family drama nor a crime melodrama, but a series of disconnected scenes that play like exercises -- some of them very good ones.

...Gray displayed a masterful filmmaking style, very much going against the frenetic crime-thriller vogue of the day (see Tarantino) and, instead, created a moody, atmospheric film...