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"You are a liar and a criminal. You are not my son."

I'm not sure how close Holy Rollers comes to the actual events that it's based on, but it's an interesting flick. It really doesn't do much more than the many movies that chronicle the rise and fall of a drug dealer that came before, if I'm being honest. You have your innocent young man who's seduced and corrupted by the (seemingly) easy money of drugs (ecstacy, in this instance), that he's introduced to by a shady friend, and most of the consequences play out in exactly the way you would expect them to and have seen before. But the setting among the Hasidic Jew community of New York gives the movie a unique spin that (at least for me) made it something other than the cookie-cutter story it could have been.

Jesse Eisenberg was totally believable as the initially pure-hearted main character whose desire to make more money leads him away from his family and the life he values. It was a good role for him, but it didn't really require him to stretch beyond his characters in Adventureland or Zombieland. Which isn't to say that he's not good here, he just gives a very familiar performance. I hear he plays a very different character than his usual in The Social Network, though, so hopefully my fears of him being forever bound by one particular character type are unfounded.  

Ari Graynor was the reason why I initially wanted to see the movie (big-time fan, the girl great), but I have to admit that her character was pretty one-dimensional and didn't really give her much to work with. The same goes for Justin Bartha's character and most of the others in the movie: they're not really written as whole people. They're given one or two qualities and everything they do stems exactly from their total greed, purity, etc. It would have been nice to see some more "complete" characters, but that's my only real complaint about the film.

I liked the documentary-like quality of the camera work; if almost made it seem like I was watching the movie unfold in real-time. And as I said before, the setting and context the story plays out in was Holy Rollers' biggest strength, in my opinion. How much you enjoy it will depend largely on how much interest you still have in these kinds of stories, as it admittedly doesn't rise out the familiar trappings and scenarios of similar movies. I still found it to be pretty entertaining, though.

Kevin Asch's "Holy Rollers" tells the story of a group of Hasidic Jews recruited as mules to smuggle ecstasy from the Netherlands to the United States. In addition to the main story, there's also a look into the Hasidic world. The main character Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg) is expected to marry a woman chosen for him, and he is shown to be afraid to touch a woman not chosen for him. The movie shows the Hasidim having a lifestyle very similar to the evangelical Christians. The look at Sam's life keeps the audience interested in him, but most of the characters aren't really developed enough. Even so, the movie mostly held my attention, both as a look at the drug smuggling story, and a look at the Hasidic culture. Worth seeing.

It's 1998 Brooklyn. Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg) is an Orthodox Jew. He works in his father's fabric store. He wants to marry Zeldy Lazar but he doesn't have the money. His friend Leon's brother Yosef (Justin Bartha) offers him a job. He asks Leon to join him. They get tricked into smuggling ecstasy from Amsterdam to New York for Israeli Jackie. Sam rises in the organization recruiting other Orthodox Jews. Rachel (Ari Graynor) is Jackie's brassy girlfriend.

I would have liked Sam to be a good guy corrupted into this world. The problem is that he's a money-grubbing selfish kid to begin with. They're also a bit too stupid at the start. As for a crime drama, there is limited drama. It's not that exciting. The premise offers some potential but it's not that compelling.

Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg) is a young man whose life is run by his Orthodox Hasidic Jewish upbringing. He lives at home, works for his father, and will marry only the woman he is set up with. Everything changes, however, when he accepts a job offer from Yosef (Justin Bartha), his best friend's older brother who serves as the community's black sheep. Presented as a free trip to Amsterdam, Sam quickly discovers that to return home, he will have to carry Ecstasy through customs. While he is clearly shaken by this foray into the world of drug running, he quickly realizes what kind of financial benefit this trade could bring him. He begins training other down-on-their-luck Jews to smuggle drugs and before long, asserts himself as a valuable part of kingpin Jackie Solomon's (Danny A. Abeckaser). But as the deals get bigger, Sam's family life falls apart and he comes closer and closer to the edge as the feds get closer.

"Rollers" gets some good-enough performances from the cast. Eisenberg brings a certain emotional attachment to the project and does an admirable job of making Sam his own man instead of a Mark Zuckerberg as a drug mule. Bartha, usually the comic relief, plays well against-type and embraces the black sheep junkie with flair. Based on real events, the film's setting is interesting but fails to develop as I would have liked. There's a great story to be told within the framework of the "Orthodox Jew struggles with the abandonment of his family and faith in order to make good money" plot line. Unfortunately, director Kevin Asch and screenwriter Antonio Macia neglect this, the most intriguing aspect of the tale. Instead, the focus is placed on a cookie-cutter love triangle that stagnates the flow of the film and brought about boredom on my part. A refocused narrative could have made "Holy Rollers" an engrossing film. Instead, the final product is mediocre at best.

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Absolutely awful and boring. It's a wannabe film. A wannabe 'Goodfellas' that came off more like 'The Outsiders' with Hasidic Jews and Israelis. The fact that it's based on a true story is the only way they got this film made. Maybe it could have been interesting if it was told differently but it wasn't. You don't like the main guy you just want to smack him on the head for being such a dumb a**. In fact, you don't like anyone in this film. People don't go to movies to see a bunch of people they don't like in a boring story. It could have been interesting but it wasn't. You really have to wonder what Jesse Eisenberg is doing with his career if he goes from good hit films to this indie turd. Overall, badly written, badly directed. After the Jesus camp horror film he did, maybe he's trying to hit a religious gambit of poor films. It was clear that this film was trying to be poignant and edgy and it was your film student types who thought they could really shake things up with an "unheard of" true story. They sat around drinking beers talking about how they were going to get all of these awards, etc. It's a predictable glory piece that's banking on the fact that the subject matter will get it some awards and out there because Jewish films always get recognition. But, let's face it, if most of the judges at the Olympics were Russian, the Russians would always win. That's just how things go. It just seems that the film makers could have used their time to make something a little less trite. Maybe they should take the Robert Carnegie class or read something on how to develop characters and give them emotional depth. This film was completely void of that. It was just people going from place to place doing stupid and bad stuff. That's it. That's not a movie, that's a newspaper article.

really loved & enjoyed this movie. It was engaging from the beginning. It used dark colors which helped set the mood for the cold Brooklyn winter. It's a human story between temptation & wanting to do the right thing. The main character is torn between tradition& morality. Very touching, & extremely well acted by all. If you liked the Social Network, you will also enjoy this movie; it has the same fast paced, engaging speed; you really want to know what is going to happen next. Jesse Eisenberg's acting really portrays his moral dilemma with wanting to be an observant Hasidic Jew, but being irresistibly tempted by the money of drug dealing.

It was ok based on ture events , however I did start losing interest about half way through.

I get the source material is what it is, but the few moments of tension build up never pay off.

I would much rather read a 5-10 min article about this story than see a full movie.

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-

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.

Within the last thirty years or so,independent cinema has certainly taken on a more respectable air in the annals of movie going. Film makers such as John Sayles,the Coen brothers,and other mavericks have made their mark among the sludge that constitutes main stream movies. Now we can add yet another name to that list:Kevin Asch,who previously directed one other film,'Characters' (unseen by me). Based on situations that transpired in 1998,'Holy Rollers',is a tale of two Hasidic Jews that unknowingly become drug mules for a collective of drug runners from Isreal. Sam Gold (played by Jesse Eisenberg,of 'The Squid & The Whale'fame)is a young man,working for his father's clothing business,until his family hopes (and prays)for Sam becoming a Rabbi someday. In trying to help out his family,financially,he is introduced by his next door neighbour,Yosef Zimmerman (played by Justin Bartha)to Jackie Soloman (Danny Abeckaser),a drug baron,who leads Sam down a one way path to impending doom,as a carrier of pills from Europe for rich "goys" (non Jews). Jackie is smooth (and slimy)enough to get Sam to do his bidding. Sam is smitten with Jackie's girl friend,Rachael Apfel (Ari Graynor),as well as a taste for the good life ('tho not until he is over his head). Others in the cast include Bern Cohen,Mark Ivanir,Halle Kate Eisenberg (Jesse's real life sister),and look out for a cameo/walk on by rapper,Q-Tip,as Ephrim,a fellow drug lord working in Holland. Kevin Asch directs from a screen play written by Antonio Macia. The films gritty cinematography is by Ben Kutchins,with editing by Suzanne Spangler. The film does (at times)resemble 'Maria,Full Of Grace',from a few years back (but don't let that steer you away from a well written,directed & acted film,such as this). Rated 'R' by the MPAA,this film contains strong language,drug references,and some brief sexual content. A film that could act as a warning to young Jews about the dangers of the drug trade,as well as a cautionary tale that could have been told by a Rabbi about swaying from the path.

Holly Rollers set's out to tell the story of Sam a honest Hasidic Jew growing up in NYC. Based on a true story Sam ends up with the wrong people after some harsh things happen in his life, and he eventually ends up over seas to sell "medicine".

I thought the acting was above par all around, and the story was great, as well, and even a little bit fun. I love the NYC environment in any movie. That's just me, and this is no exception. I felt like I was in the city.

Over all it was worth watching and I would recommend it for something to watch on a rainy day!

SPOILER: I was able to watch this on Netflix streaming movies. For me, a Roman Catholic raised in the deep south and with zero knowledge of the ways and lives of New York Hasidic Jews, it was a pleasure to get a glimpse of a vastly different lifestyle and system of beliefs.

Jesse Eisenberg, who was so good in 'Social Network', is really good here. His character, Sam Gold, is 20, and the family expectations are that he will continue his studies and become a Rabbi. As the movie begins he works with his father in fine garment materials, and is meeting the girl he is being arranged to marry.

But things take a very quick change when another Jew, a bit older and a bit more worldly, asks if he would like to take a trip to Europe and make $1000. Sam asks the questions, is assured nothing funny is going on. But as we soon find out they are smuggling Ectasy in from Amsterdam, using the young Hasidic Jews as mules, not raising any suspicion at customs.

This is the coming of age of Sam, but in a very dangerous manner. The closing credits explain how they were caught and what prison time they served, but the very ending credits say the characters and situations are fiction, so I'm not sure what to believe. Still, a good movie. Also interesting that Eisenberg's real younger sister plays Sam's younger sister in the movie.

It was a bit slow at the very beginning but I'm glad I didn't give up on it. Great cast and acting! Some reviewers mentioned that they predicted what was going to happen.... well, it's a 2 hour long movie based on a true story about a drug dealer, so the ending is obviously easily predictable. If you enjoy movies based on actual events like I do, don't pass this one up!