I never heard of this movie and recorded it only because it stars Jesse Eisenberg, an interesting actor. It turned out to be a solid drama, very engaging, about a young man torn between two drastically different worlds, the Brooklyn Hasidic world in which he was raised and the criminal world of drug smuggling and easy money. The ending demonstrates the power of family and community as the young man, Sam, played by Eisenberg, desperately returns home.
The movie portrays the Hasidic community from the inside, with no overt attempt to explain its ways and customs to outsiders. While a passing familiarity with Jewish traditions might be useful to viewers, any reasonably intelligent person should have no problem figuring out why people say and do the things they do in this film. My guess is that someone from a very different way of life, such as an evangelical Christian, might find it easy to empathize with the characters. On the other hand, I personally am resolutely non-religious yet found the movie compelling.
Hard to explain why Jesse Eisenberg is so interesting to watch. His facial expression is really quite limited. Most of the time he wears a frown of intense concentration--the same look that characterized him through much of The Social Network. On the rare occasion when he smiles or (at the end of the movie) cries, it is a memorable moment.
Thanks to the note on the Holy Rollers IMDb start page, I see that there was a subtext or rationale for the title of this movie, but I still think it is an inappropriately snarky title for the serious drama that this turns out to be.
Holy Rollers is well worth seeing.
The movie portrays the Hasidic community from the inside, with no overt attempt to explain its ways and customs to outsiders. While a passing familiarity with Jewish traditions might be useful to viewers, any reasonably intelligent person should have no problem figuring out why people say and do the things they do in this film. My guess is that someone from a very different way of life, such as an evangelical Christian, might find it easy to empathize with the characters. On the other hand, I personally am resolutely non-religious yet found the movie compelling.
Hard to explain why Jesse Eisenberg is so interesting to watch. His facial expression is really quite limited. Most of the time he wears a frown of intense concentration--the same look that characterized him through much of The Social Network. On the rare occasion when he smiles or (at the end of the movie) cries, it is a memorable moment.
Thanks to the note on the Holy Rollers IMDb start page, I see that there was a subtext or rationale for the title of this movie, but I still think it is an inappropriately snarky title for the serious drama that this turns out to be.
Holy Rollers is well worth seeing.