A Jewish boy takes up boxing as a means of self-defense, alienating himself from his religious community. When Shannon offers Benjamin a way to make easy money, he faces a stark choice that sends him hurtling towards a personal hell.
Stephen Graham is ever reliable as Benjamin, a bare-knuckle boxer and family man who provides muscle and criminal favours for Shannon, an Irish consigliere to the local orthodox Jewish mafia.
Only the arbitrary twists come as any real surprise, and even those are mostly geared towards the film's single-minded mission of assuring you that life is a meaningless nightmare of suffering, whichever god you happen to kneel before.
It's absurd material, very obviously overstretched, beyond breaking point, from its origins as a short. But Graham is as watchable as always, even when working with this tattered script.
There is undoubtedly a lot to be admired about Orthodox, but you can't help but feel somewhat underwhelmed considering the potentially compelling premise, and the impressive cast assembled to present it.
