Twist (2004)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: C+     Film: B-

 

 

Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist has already been made into several feature films, so the odds that another film could be made were inevitable, but a good one against the odds.  There is the little-seen 1922 silent version, the 1948 David Lean classic that many consider definitive, Sir Carol Reed’s mixed Musical Oliver! From 1968 and the grossly underappreciated 1988 animated feature Oliver & Company.  Writer/director Jacob Tierney follows the usually disastrous current trend of many independent films that try to do a realist, stripped down transplant of a classic tale in his 2004 film Twist.

 

This version offers Nick Stahl as Dodge (read Artful Dodger), who meets Oliver (Joshua Close) and gets him into the lowlife world he scavenges his living from.  Instead of petty thievery, they are male hookers, but the film is smart enough to only suggest any sexual moments vaguely.  Though the film will be somewhat predictable to those familiar with the story, points to all for making this current without selling out the story too much.  The only problems are the songs, whether it is background music the characters can or cannot hear.  It is even worse when they sing, all of which seems desperate.  The film is best when the characters talk or the film is being either visual or silent.  Too bad it did not do that more often, as the cast was more than up to carrying the film in that way completely.  Otherwise, it is one of the best such “updates” of late, even if it cannot totally “dodge” the pretensions of such a project.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is somberly shot by cinematographer Gerald Packer, C.S.C., just atmospheric enough in most shots to separate it from the flatly shot films form the same cycle of usually unimaginative “reimaginations” of past classics.  Though the box does not note the anamorphic feature clearly enough, it is and looks pretty good, especially for a low budget film.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has good Pro Logic surrounds and the film was a Dolby Digital theatrical release.  How truly a 5.1 mix was 5.1 for this film is not known at this time.  Extras include a trailer for this film, four for other Strand titles on DVD and an audio commentary by Tierney and Stahl, which is good to a point, until they joke around more than talk about the film.  That becomes a waste of time, reflecting the loose approach during the making of the film that holds it back from being even greater.  Twist is still one of the better independent films of the year and worth your time, especially if you like the original book.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo