Twist [DVD] [2003] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

The trouble with Twist is that it's perhaps too overly faithful to Dickens' story. Transferring the premise to the snowy industrial heart of Toronto is no doubt compelling, but somewhere in the transference, the original vibrancy of the story has been lost in the process. Consequently, we have a movie that trundles and labors along, is unevenly acted, and has lots of long drawn out dead spots where nothing particularly significant happens. In the end, Twist comes across as rather strained and stretched, and feels far longer than its running time of ninety-seven minutes.

In this 21st century version, Oliver, (Joshua Close), Dodge (Nick Stahl) and the rest of the gang have been transformed into male hustlers whom Fagan (Gary Farmer) commands to walk the seedy back alleyways of Toronto picking up guys whenever they can. Fagin gets his orders from the big boss named Bill, who is never seen (it's a big misstep of the film), but whose presence is felt by the fear he engenders.

The boys are fed coffee and heroin by Nancy (Michele-Barbara Pelletier), the local coffee shop waitress and she's under strict instructions from Fagan, and from her husband Bill, to "keep the boys working," especially Dodge who has a tendency to slack off. Dodge also lures homeless boys into the game in order to support his heroin habit, and on one cold, wet evening he meets the unassuming runaway, Oliver and offers him a place to stay.

Fagan soon recruits Oliver into the prostitution ring. But Oliver's an innocent and so achingly needy that he propositions Dodge several times. Dodge, however, is so caught up in the life of drugs, that all he wants to do is wander through the city's red light district; a true lost and embittered soul. When Oliver is given a chance of a new life with a wealthy senator, he decides to jump at the chance.

Tierney has effectively moved the emphasis of the story away from Oliver, to Dodge and the result is that Dodge is given a rather muddied back-story. Apparently, Dodge has an older brother who eventually arrives on the scene, ostensibly to help his younger brother. But when Dodge demands payment for an evening of talk, the sibling reunion quickly turns ugly and Dodge is left shocked and bereft. As his world spirals out of control, he takes the law into his own hands, while the other characters either suicide or turn to heroin to cope with the grim proceedings.

Stahl as Dodge gives by far the strongest and most freaked-out performance. He really gets to the essence of the character, making us feel his sense of frustration, loss and grief. He even makes us "live" the freezing temperatures by the way he sticks his hands further into his pockets, constantly tugging at his scarf, and, head down, lumbering along the cold, dark streets. It's hard, however, to follow the rush to Oliver, who spends much of the movie looking down at his feet, sulking around with a needy petulance, looking bored with the events as they unfold.

It's all very bleak, depressing, and even unsettling, but this isn't why the film's not that good. The problem is that the movie is far too stagy and pretentious, with scenes that are too stretched out, and camera shots that linger far too long on certain episodes. There's obviously a good story here, and we are given a startlingly realistic insight into how these boys live and survive. But under Tierney's plodding direction, the movie is often downright tedious; it's just so apparent that all we are witnessing is a very young man's passion and fervor for unrelieved and unmitigated misery. Mike Leonard July 05.