Shalom! Want to make some extra money? Okay, it’s simple: you’ll be transporting medicine for rich people. Take this suitcase, and don’t open it for anybody. If you’re asked questions, give simple answers. Relax. And above all, act Jewish.
Between 1998 and 1999, over 1 million Ecstasy pills were trafficked into New York by a small group of Hasidic Jews. "Holy Rollers" uses this true premise as the basis of a morality play, with an unlikely drug courier at its center.
Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg, whose nervous stutter is never more effective) is both at home and lost in his tight-knit community. His family’s lack of money is affecting his prospects for a wife, and he is unsure whether to continue working for his critical fabric-pushing father or study to become a rabbi. When Sam’s neighbor Yosef (Justin Bartha) takes him to Europe and gives him a suitcase to carry, Sam plays along. He’s shocked to find out the contents are drugs, but he’s given an envelope of cash. More importantly, Sam’s told he did a good job.
We’ve seen it all before: well-meaning hero is thrust into a world of corruption and excess—and evolves into the best game player of all. What sets "Holy Rollers" apart is what its main character has at stake. On the one hand, Sam has more money than he ever dreamed of, and the approval he doesn’t find in his own family. On the other hand, the community talks. His family won’t even accept the new oven they need so badly. As he falls asleep in shul, his faith—which has always sustained him—slowly slips away.
"Holy Rollers" glimpses into a culture where tradition, family and God are meant to anchor but can inspire rebellion. Even at the height of criminal behavior, a drug kingpin calls his mother on shabbas and a stranger’s innocent offer of prayer literally brings an estranged Hasid to his knees. Sure, the fall from grace is a tale as old as time. But when done just right, even the best-known plot point becomes a bumpy, fascinating ride.
"Holy Rollers" is now playing at Chicago’s Landmark Century Centre Cinema.