In Brooklyn, a youth from an Orthodox Jewish community is lured into becoming an Ecstasy dealer by his pal who has ties to an Israel drug cartel.
Beautifully, atmospherically shot and sporting a great soundtrack, this is an otherwise quite dull affair.
We have seen this all before...Oy Vey!
Jewish clichés can be forgiven as Asch revisits the shtetl for his crime tale that shines a light upon a society within via one rebel’s secular awakening. Notice Q-Tip’s cameo as a member of the Kosher Nostra.
As a drug-smuggling drama, Holy Rollers is conventional, predictable stuff, but Kevin Asche’s film is compelling in its focus on Sam’s relationship to his faith; this element layers some much-needed complexity into the film’s formulaic coming-of-age storyline.
Ecstasy-smuggling Orthodox drug drama. It does exactly what it says on the tin. You’ll want to Google the hell out of this ‘true story’.
Eisenberg, brilliant at these nervy naifs, takes the character as far as he can but is finally let down by a film that can't decide on an arc or an ending.
Debut director Kevin Asch works hard to avoid falling into the trap so many films do of glamorising the drug trade, but despite a suitably nervy turn from Eisenberg, there's no energy to the film-making or much insight into the story.
Given the right tweaks, it had the makings of a great, weird comedy, but it’s played instead as a sort of grungy rites-of-passage movie, like a meandering Hasidic joke that dribbles away before the punchline.
Culture clash comedy turns tedious.
What should be a juicy tale of temptation versus tradition ends up a dry yarn, but Eisenberg and Bartha keep the show rolling along.
Jesse Eisenberg's previous incarnation as Facebook evil genius Mark Zuckerberg is easily forgotten during this breathless, enjoyable comedy-thriller based on the true story.
Lacks any spark of originality.
It's a surprisingly cool little film, not funny at all but rather seriously torn between the secular and the sacred, a conflict Eisenberg expresses with a neurotic intensity.
Jewish clichés can be forgiven as Asch revisits the shtetl for his crime tale that shines a light upon a society within via one rebel’s secular awakening. Notice Q-Tip’s cameo as a member of the Kosher Nostra.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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