A young man is sucked down the vortex in “Holy Rollers.” It’s a place between the safe harbor of tradition and the temptations of contemporary life.
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“Holy Rollers”
2 out of 5 stars
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Ari Graynor, Jason Fuchs
Director: Kevin Asch
Rated R for drug content and language throughout, and brief sexual material.
Running Time: 89 minutes
What’s most interesting about this small, well-acted but unpolished drama is the true story it fictionalizes. If the austerely styled production and bare-bones script fails to illuminate a Hasidic 20-year-old’s coming-of-age ordeal expressively enough, at least lesser known director Kevin Asch and screenwriter Antonio Macia have chosen fertile material to explore. Their piece also benefits from a bright cast of Hollywood up-and-comers who have not yet become big marquee names, including Jesse Eisenberg (“Zombieland,” “Adventureland”), Justin Bartha (“The Hangover,” “National Treasure”) and Ari Graynor (“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” “Whip It”). “Holy Rollers’ will be of most interest to fans of these actors and to those with a particular interest in religious subcultures in general or Hasidism — a branch of ultra-Orthodox Judaism — in particular.
During just a few months in the late 1990s, a small group of young people from that cloistered, strictly observant community were arrested for smuggling about 1 million ecstasy pills from Europe to New York City.
In the movie’s account, Sam Gold (Eisenberg) is trusting and unsophisticated when challenges in career and love make him vulnerable. His father (Mark Ivanir) doesn’t respect his input in the family business. The arranged marriage Sam wants fizzles, partly because of his limited prospects.
So, as in the Garden of Eden — a Torah parable directly referenced here — Sam’s corrupted neighbor Yosef (Bartha) is the snake. He tempts the protagonist with a chance to earn serious money. A first trip to Amsterdam to bring back some special “medicine,” though, turns out to be something more. But even after realizing the illegalities, Sam becomes seduced to continue by the cash and by an exciting world embodied by the attentive girlfriend of his new boss Jackie (Danny A. Abeckaser).
It is a kiss on the lips by Rachel (Graynor) — a huge sin in his culture — that seems to mark the beginning of Sam’s fall. It is complete when his family shuns him and he finally chops off his symbolic side-curls, or payos.
Unfortunately, the restrained filmmakers don’t take full advantage of such emotional moments. An obedient member of a morally regimented society goes wholly and “Holy” wrong. But the film never extracts any larger point from the irony.
