TWIST

Year: 2003
USA: Strand Releasing
Cast: Nick Stahl, Joshua Close, Gary Farmer, Michele-Barbara Pelletier, Tygh Runyan, Stephen McHattie, Moti Yona, Brigid Tierney, Max McCabe, Andre Noble, James Gilpin, Josh Holliday, Mike Lobel, Michael Ripley, Caroline Sura, Emily Hampshire
Director: Jacob Tierney
Country: Canada
USA: 97 mins
USA Release Date: 23 May 2004 (Limited Release - New York)

US Distributor

Synopsis

TWIST is a calmly lucid re-telling of Charles Dickens' classic Oliver Twist, updated to current times and moved out of the poor house and onto the streets of Toronto. Told from the point of view of The Artful Dodger (Dodge - Nick Stahl), TWIST is no longer a tale of the misfortunes of boys, but rather about the prosaically beautiful Oliver (Joshua Close) who falls into the hands of down-and-out young men. Dodge takes the young man under his wing and instructs him in the unforgiving arts of drug abuse and prostitution. As Oliver's innocence dissolves, both young men confront inner and outer demons and, strangely, it is Dodge who finds he cannot escape his past.

Faithful to the tragedy on which it is based, TWIST is about the creation of evil and the cyclical nature of violence that can keep even the bravest among us tangled in its web.
Actor-turned-director/writer Jacob Tierney (THE NEON BIBLE, THIS IS MY FATHER), elicits exquisitely subtle performances from an ensemble cast featuring Nick Stahl (IN THE BEDROOM, TERMINATOR 3) and newcomer Joshua Close as the almost angelic Oliver. Although faithful to the social reformist impulse at the heart of Dickens' writing, TWIST translates the novel's sorrow and fierce poignancy into starkly composed, beautifully cold images that will resonate with contemporary audiences.