Holy Rollers

Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg) is a young up and coming Hasidic Jew whose father, Mendel Gold (Mark Ivanir), expects him to take over his fabric business, become a Rabi, and arranges Sam to be married with Zeldny (Stella Kietal). Living in the cold Bronx and in a house with little to no heating for a decent cup of tea Sam wants money to give his family a better life. His neighbor, Yosef Zimmerman (Justin Bartha) does exactly that by giving Sam a job to sell ecstasy. Sam’s friend, Leon, advises him to stop before Sam loses everything dear to him. Sam proving himself to his boss, Jackie (Danny A. Abeckaser) quickly moves up in rank. Soon Yosef to make even more money does side drug deals which do not go over well with Jackie, and soon the destruction of Sam comes by “getting high off his own supply” and falling for Jackie’s girlfriend, Rachael (Ari Graynor). What Leon predicted came true, no longer would Sam be a Rabi, marry Zeldny, and is even an outcast among the Jewish community and his family. Sam must make the choice between loyalty to family or financial security in life.

Holy Rollers is a strong story line for a number of reasons. A point made throughout the movie “Be calm, don’t act suspicious, always have a story, and most importantly act Jewish.” The police would not expect Hasidic Jews to be doing illegal activity. While the plot is well done the pacing is slow at parts, however is intended and found in many movies involving the Jewish religion such as A Serious Man. The roles acting level was on average but did not need a challenge and the drug business obviously fell because throughout the film the dealers were haggling. In organized business there are preset prices and there is little tension. The true events of the movie only added to how well done the film is. B-