Holy Rollers
Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland, Adventureland) stars in a based-on-a-true-story crime drama about drug-running Hasidic Jews. Eisenberg is magnetic as he sheepishly embarks on a career as an ecstasy mule in order to earn cash and woo the woman to whom he is betrothed. Holy Rollers deftly avoids drug-movie clichés by juxtaposing Jewish Orthodox tradition with the self-delusion of dealers; in New York, Hasids stand on street corners, trying to hook lapsed Jews back into the spiritual life. It’s a surprising crime story with compassion for its characters.
by Paul Constant