Review of Holy Rollers (2010) by Jennifer B — 25 Nov 2010

A really interesting character study about what seems like a somewhat absurd premise. Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha are both amazing and have the right tone and method to give an authentic feel to their characters and the situations.

In several ways there is humor to be found within it, but it is first and foremost a drama about morality and corruption. I think both the Orthodox Jewish world that Sam comes from and the drug underworld that he eventually gets seduced by both have their flaws.

One seems to be a lifestyle heavy in judgment and repressive of emotion, while the other is dangerous and deeply sinister. I actually felt really horrible for the characters because in that situation it seems like neither lifestyle is right and it makes complete sense that living in a conservative social group like Hassidic Judaism might make the easy money of a criminal appear attractive.

To me it mostly suffers from not having a more rounded script and story arc, but despite that it remains a cool movie to watch, especially considering the fact that the budget was probably quite low.