When the writer/director was a boy immigrant from the Soviet Union, with no father figure at home, he met an Orthodox Jew who instilled a little pride in him by explaining about the Biblical hero whose name he carries -- Pinhas (in English, Phineas). Young Pinhas Tavger considered looking more deeply into his Jewish heritage, but he gave up on the idea. Now he fictionalizes an extension of that story; in More Than I Deserve, the boy Pinhas does start taking lessons in Judaism and we're shown the chain of results for himself, his teacher, and his mother. Life has dealt each of them an unenviable hand, but they're all quietly, doggedly looking for a way to make things better, and though they have their weaknesses, you can't help rooting for them. The film proceeds at an even pace except in one or two transitions that seem to occur too speedily. There were best-actor nominations for the leading man, leading lady, and juvenile lead, which were no more than they deserved.
