Holy Rollers (2010)

In Brooklyn, a youth from an Orthodox Jewish community is lured into becoming an Ecstasy dealer by his pal who has ties to an Israeli drug cartel.

Director:

Kevin Asch

Writer:

Antonio Macia

Stars:

Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Ari Graynor

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jesse Eisenberg	...	Sam Gold
Justin Bartha	...	Yosef Zimmerman
Ari Graynor	...	Rachel Apfel
Danny A. Abeckaser	...	Jackie Solomon
Mark Ivanir	...	Mendel Gold
Elizabeth Marvel	...	Elka Gold
Jason Fuchs	...	Leon Zimmerman
Q-Tip	...	Ephraim
Hallie Kate Eisenberg	...	Ruth Gold (as Hallie Eisenberg)
Bern Cohen	...	Rebbe Horowitz
Stella Keitel	...	Zeldy Lazar
David Vadim	...	Mr. Maxim
Charlie Hewson	...	Andrew (The Goy)
Penny Bittone	...	Ivan
Ori Pfeffer	...	Beni

Storyline

Inspired by a true story of a young Hasidic man who was lured into the world of international drug trafficking in the late 90s.

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Plot Keywords:

jewish | israeli | ecstasy | greed | jewish wedding | 

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Taglines:

In 1998, 1 million ecstasy pills were smuggled into the USA by a group of Hasidic Jews.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for drug content and language throughout, and brief sexual material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 December 2010 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Jewish Connection

Filming Locations:

84-06 106th Avenue, Ozone Park, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$39,685 (USA) (21 May 2010)

Gross:

$302,886 (USA) (20 August 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Deerjen Films, Lookbook Films, Safehouse Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is an American colloquial expression that refers informally (and sometimes derogatorily) to Protestant sects whose worship meetings often include sessions of frenzied excitement (despite the Christian connotation of the term, this movie is about Jews). In addition to that connection, the title also is a reference to the other subject matter of the film, the illegal trafficking of the drug MDMA or "Ecstasy" ("rolling" is a slang term used to describe being high on Ecstasy).

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Goofs

The bottle of perfume Rachel hands Sam to give to his mom is Calvin Klein Euphoria, which was not released until 2007.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits mention the ring was responsible for importing over a million "Ecstacy" pills (should be "Ecstasy")

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Hereafter (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Porque Amor"
Written by 'MJ Mynarski' and Jonathan Hernandez
Performed by Jonathan Hernandez
(c) 2009 24FrameScore

User Reviews

Entertaining & powerful film with a fantastic cast

Continuing his run as one of the best up-and-coming young actors in Hollywood, Jesse Eisenberg ('Zombieland,' 'The Social Network') stars in this true story as Sam Gold, a Hacidic Jew who mistakenly gets caught up in the world of drug trafficking for an Israeli drug cartel after accepting a "medical job" from his friend & neighbour Yosef (Justin Bartha of 'National Treasure').

After only about a decade in the film business, Jessie Eisenberg has already starred in twenty films, has headed up one of the most successful horror films ever ('Zombieland,' NOT 'Cursed'), has been pegged as a possible frontrunner for the Best Actor Academy Award (for 'The Social Network'), and has worked under such great directors as Wes Craven, David Fincher, M. Night Shyamalan, and Noah Baumbach. At only 27 years of age, this is a pretty fantastic start to a resumé. Eisenberg continues his run of successful film-picking with this little indie gem 'Holy Rollers.' Many stories are told over & over again and become repetitive & stale unless there is a distinct separation that makes the new telling worthwhile. In this case, the story of a naïve young man caught up in a world of drugs is nothing new. However, throwing this idea into the society of something so otherworldly conservative as that of Orthodox Judaism places the film on another level entirely. The story is told very well by screenwriter Antonio Macia whose only other film 'Anne B. Real,' shockingly enough, is currently residing on IMDb's bottom 100 films of all time. Macia's pacing, dialogue, and storytelling abilities must have improved vastly to rise above such an embarrassing beginning in this business.

Rookie director Kevin Asch also did a fine job with this first directorial effort. His grasp on the material and translation of it to the screen was a prime example of what young directors can do to make a film something special. Along with cinematographer Ben Kutchins, Asch superbly captured the international settings the film trots through, including the dingy areas of New York City & the Red Light district of Amsterdam. One issue the film does face comes from its drastically short runtime. Coming in at just under 90 minutes, the film does not have the length to fully flesh out everything the story had to offer.

What stands apart in this film, though, above Asch's direction & Macia's script, is the talented cast who deliver superbly engaging performances all around. Jesse Eisenberg has, for several years, been a favourite of mine among the slew of young actors. He, for instance, managed to make an otherwise dreadful film like Wes Craven's 'Cursed' into something at least a bit more watchable. Alongside Justin Bartha, Jason Fuchs (who plays Yosef's younger brother Leon), and Danny A. Abeckaser, Eisenberg truly pulls the audience into the story and greatly deepens it. Without the fine performances this cast put forth, 'Holy Rollers' would have lost a lot of the good it had going for it.

Overall, 'Holy Rollers' is an entertaining & powerful drama that goes above & beyond much of its recent independent competitors.

Final Verdict: 8/10.

-AP3-