Holy Rollers (2009) Reviews

A young man with a religious calling begins following a very different path in this independent drama based on a true story. Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg) is a Hasidic Jew in his late teens who lives with his family in Brooklyn. Sam's father, Mendel (Mark Ivanir), runs a fabric store and Sam helps out when he isn't busy with his rabbinical studies. But Mendel isn't an especially good businessman, a fact that's become very obvious to Sam, and his uncertain financial future has caused his fiancée's parents to call off the couple's upcoming wedding. Sam is also suffering from a bit of jealousy toward his best friend, Leon (Jason Fuchs), who seems to have better luck in both life and academics, so when Leon's older brother, Yosef (Justin Bartha), offers Sam some good-paying part-time work, he's more than interested. Sam is instructed to fly to Amsterdam, pick up a parcel, and bring it back; it's not until he comes home to New York that it dawns on Sam that he's transporting drugs, but between the hefty payroll, the charm of Amsterdam-based ecstasy wholesaler Jackie Solomon (Danny A. Abeckaser), and the beauty of Jackie's sexy paramour, Rachel (Ari Graynor), Sam begins to think life in the drug game might be just the thing for him after all. The first feature film from director Kevin Asch, Holy Rollers received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi