Holy Rollers review

The true story of when Orthodox Jews managed to smuggle tons of drugs in to the USA

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In 1998 Hasidic New York teen Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg) got involved in a drugs ring recruiting Orthodox Jews as drugs mules, piously passing through US customs with bags, hats and coats rammed with ecstasy tablets.

He was hugely successful, flooding the East coast with E until customs stepped up their game – something Kevin Asch’s diverting but slight film needs to do to be more than yet another drugs rise-and-fall tale.

While Justin Bartha entertains as a not-so-secular Jew and Asch conveys a tangible sense of time and place, we have seen this all before; from Jesse Eisenberg’s trademark jitters and speedy speech to the inevitable tragic story arc and the morphing of smalltime dabbler to swaggering kingpin, undone by over-confidence. Oy vey.

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Editor-in-Chief, Total Film

Jane Crowther is a contributing editor to Total Film magazine, having formerly been the longtime Editor, as well as serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Film Group here at Future Plc, which covers Total Film, SFX, and numerous TV and women's interest brands. Jane is also the vice-chair of The Critics' Circle and a BAFTA member. You'll find Jane on GamesRadar+ exploring the biggest movies in the world and living up to her reputation as one of the most authoritative voices on film in the industry.