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 screenplay and story is about Hasidic Jews, but the screenplay was written by Antonio Macia, who is a Mormon.

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Goofs

Roughly 5 minutes into the film, in the Brooklyn cut scene after eating family dinner and before the scene at the fabric shop a late model Honda Civic sedan (Produced starting in 2006) can be clearly seen, even though the movie is set in 1998.

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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 The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Shrek Forever After/Survival of the Dead/Holy Rollers (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Loungin'"
Written by The Guru (as Elam, Keith)
Used by permission of EMI APRIL MUSIC INC.
All rights reserved

User Reviews

Good movie thanks to Eisenberg's brilliant performance, above all

This relatively short (1h 25min) movie is inspired by actual events in the 1990ies when Hasidic Jews were recruited as "mules" to smuggle ecstasy from Europe (mostly from The Netherlands) into the United States. The introductory part of the screenplay, however, is too long - I mean the events prior to smuggling process. On the other hand, the movie gives a good overview of customs and habits of Orthodox Jews - definitely interesting for non-Jews - and manners of recruiting people for illegal trafficking. The club scenes seem a bit lengthy though... Well done anyway, and the director Kevin Asch won the Breakthrough Director Award at the 2010 Gotham Awards.

Jesse Eisenberg gives his best performance so far - and so different from the one in Social Network, for which he has been praised higher. His interpretation of Sam/Schmuel Gold, a mild-manner 20-year old youngster gradually becoming a smuggling activist, is so convincing and at times funny - although there is always tough and troubled background visible. Justin Bartha, Ari Graynor and Danny Abeckaser are also worth mentioning, going with the atmosphere.

A recommendable movie - and a warning against involvement into illegal trafficking and drug use.