Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Martin Owen, Rialto Distribution.
A stirring modern-day take on Charles Dickens’ timeless novel, Oliver Twist.
Do not expect this film to be too close to the 1838 novel. It has the story baseline and the main characters with a few twists along the way. Twist is a classic brought dramatically up-to-date in the teeming heartland of modern London, where a group of street-smart young hustlers plan the heist of the century for the ultimate payday.
The film starts with a chase across London with newcomer Raff Law, son of Jude Law. It’s a pleasant watch.
Oliver, who is now known as Twist, has a sad tale to tell at the beginning of the film and an emotional one at the end, but in-between there is a whole host of chasing, humour and romance, whilst Fagin and his ‘children’ organise a heist.
The film features an all-star British cast including two-time Academy Award-winner Sir Michael Caine (The Dark Knight) as Fagin, Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) as Sikes, Rita Ora (50 Shades of Grey) plays Dodge, Franz Drameh (Legends of Tomorrow) as Batesey, Sophie Simnett (Daybreak) as Red and introduces Raff Law in the title role of Twist.
Directed by Martin Owen (The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud), it also stars David Walliams (After Ever After) and Noel Clarke (Bulletproof). The screenplay is by John Wrathall (The Liability), Sally Collett (Max Cloud, Bounce) and Martin Owen (Max Cloud, Killers Anonymous).
Ringleader and head of the ‘family’ is Fagin. For such a classic Dickens character, Twist needed an iconic actor for the role. For Caine, there was one main draw to the role of Fagin, as he explains: ‘For a start, he’s working class and he looks after a lot of children”.
“What I love about the character is him being with all the kids and taking them in. I’ve had three grandchildren in the last few years, and I’ve realised how fabulous kids are; I’m completely besotted with them.”
What’s not to love about a clever heist to trick the trickster!
