Twisted [VHS]

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Product Reviews

(1 stars) - Check out the short subject
This was a terrible movie, but the short, "Loopy," is a gem. It's the work of two film students and I believe served as their thesis. A retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood," it serves up chills, good acting, and the best wolf costume in existence.

(2 stars) - Recognize Oliver?
"Twisted"

Recognize Oliver?

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

"Oliver Twist" has taken on yet another update with the release of "Twisted". This time the scene of the action is the gay underground in New York City. However, any resemblance between this movie and the novel by Charles Dickens is very hard to fid. Even the names of the characters have been changed. Oliver is now Lee, a young man who must take care of himself by living on the streets. The Artful Dodger is now Fine Art, a hard hustler with bleached blonde hair and who will do anything for a dollar. Fagin is now Andre, a momma's boy and Bill Sykes and Nancy are now a couple who are into S & M and Nancy, who is now Angel, is Lee's protector.
The script is a mess. The director somehow lost his vision and what we have is a very gritty movie that does have some very good acting. In an attempt to make this into an art film, there are many fancy images, flashbacks and very strange juxtapositions. Instead of advancing the story, thy hinder any kind of plot delineation and the screenplay becomes an odd retelling of the original with very strange results. There is not anything good to say about the editing or the photography or the lighting. There are times when I had to strain my eyes to make out what was happening on the screen.
The character that shows the most promise is the drag queen. I am still trying to figure out what the tone and point of view of the film are. Yet the guys are eye candy but the film becomes boring very quickly. This is too bad because there is a lot of promise here. With a different director and a better screenplay, this could have been a wonderful film.

(3 stars) - Merely Average
I consider the movie to be average; it did not appear to be a particularly clever take on the original tale - and the acting didn't particularly engage me.

(2 stars) - Ehhh.
I wanted to like this movie so much more than I actually did. Unfortately it was pretty much a mess from beginning to end.

A great performance from Anthony Crivello though.

(4 stars) - A New Twist for Oliver Twist
What really makes this low-budget, indi film are the magnificent performances of this highly talented ensemble cast. Seth Michael Donsky, who wrote and directed it, had an excellent idea: set Charles Dickens' classic "Oliver Twist" in contemporary New York City. God knows, not much has changed since Dickens wrote his socially critical study of a young orphan boy, caught in the grips of an unfair society. With the low-budget that Donsky obviously had, he makes a valiant attempt at creating a visually dark and atmospheric montage of the underbelly of modern urban society. He doesn't always succeed, and the film is at points muddled, but the ultimate effect is strong.

The Twist: "Oliver", or as he's called here, Lee, has run away from an abusive foster home and fines comfort and shelter from the elderly street performer, Can Man (beautifully played by Ray Aranha). Can Man teaches him about dreams being the basis of hope, and how you must keep your dreams safe. After Can Man is brutally murdered by a gang of thugs, Lee is comforted and brought "home" by Fine Art - a cute take off on "The Artful Dodger". Fine Art (Jean Loup Wolfman gives an eerie performance) is a young call-boy living in Andre's all-male brothel. The elderly Andre (no less than William Hickey) is the story's Euro-trash version of "Fagan", who is reliant on Eddie (akin to "Bill Sykes") for the house's supply of drugs. Eddie (a scary performance by Anthony Crivello) has a fairly large revere in the city under his control. He pimps his boys and runs his deals, and no one gets in his way and lives to tell about it. Angel (a beautiful and sensitive performance by David Norona) is Eddie's "Nancy". All Angel wants out of life is to make Eddie happy, and become a serious musician. The first is impossible and the later doesn't suit Eddie.

Angel meets Lee at Andre's and take an instant liking to the child. He starts meeting Lee regularly to give him piano lessons. Andre of course, has a different career plan in mind for Lee and sends him out with Fine Art to learn the delicate art of hustling. Unfortunately, they hustle an undercover cop, who snaps Lee and turns him over to the juvenal authorities. Eddie and Andre fear what Lee might say, and strong-arm Angel into "kidnapping" him from the police.

In the end, Angel - along with his best friend, the drag queen, Shiniqua (Billy Porter is worth the price of the video), make a daring attempt at saving Lee's life while risking their own.

Independent movie-making almost at its best!

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