IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive
RottenTomatoes.com
Register | Log In | What is RT?
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Trailers & Pictures The Vine Forums
Box Office | In Theaters | Opening | Upcoming | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches by subscribing to our Google Subscribed Links profile.
 
Movies / On DVD / Twist
Twist

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Email to a Friend
  • Add to List
  • Bookmark and Share
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon

Twist (2004)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
16 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 31

Fresh: 5

Rotten:26

Average Rating: 4.4/10

Consensus: Despite of its contemporary setting and some strong performances, this is a bland retelling of Oliver Twist.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release: May 21, 2004 Limited

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), TWIST is no longer... 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), TWIST is no longer a tale of the misfortunes of boys, but rather about the prosaically beautiful Oliver 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. The film was a selection in both the Toronto International Film Festival and the Venice International Film Festival. -- © Strand Releasing [More]

Starring: Nick Stahl, Joshua Close, Gary Farmer, Stephen McHattie

Starring: Nick Stahl, Joshua Close, Gary Farmer, Stephen McHattie, Michele-Barbara Pelletier

Director: Jacob Tierney

Director: Jacob Tierney
Screenwriter: Jacob Tierney
Studio: Strand Releasing

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

  • Buy DVD
 
 
 
 
Release:

Oct 19, 2004

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region (unknown)
  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - 1. Jacob Tierney - Director, Cast

Reviews for Twist

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/24/08
David Stratton
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/07/04
Don Willmott
Filmcritic.com
Ratings Image

My memory may be a little vague on this one, but I don’t recall any incest scenes in the original Oliver Twist

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/04/04
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
Ratings Image

This would make Dickens suicidal, probably in more than one way.

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
10/19/04
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy
Ratings Image

One of the glummest recent attempts to drag a classic story into the 21st century.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
09/03/04
John Hartl
Seattle Times
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
09/03/04
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

A surprisingly deep, dramatic twist on an old melodrama.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
08/19/04
Laura Kelly
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Ratings Image

A joyless series of shooting-up scenes.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
08/08/04
David Noh
Film Journal International
Ratings Image

Unrelenting in its tragedy, this movie should come with a major bummer warning or something to help you recover from the haunting images. The story is a little thin at times.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
08/06/04
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com
Ratings Image

The only thing funny about Twist is how seriously it takes its own pompous preposterousness.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
08/05/04
Tom Maurstad
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Isn't without interest, but overall it's more an earnest attempt than a successful accomplishmrent.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
08/04/04
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
Ratings Image

The movie's far too stagy and pretentious.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
07/30/04
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Cuaron ran into trouble by being overly faithful to Dickens' story, changing almost nothing except the setting.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
07/23/04
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

There's nothing here a handful of show-stopping production numbers--or a good steam cleaning--couldn't fix.

Full Review Source: Movie Boeuf | comment Comment
07/16/04
David N. Butterworth
Movie Boeuf
Ratings Image

Apart from the somewhat novel conceit of turning Dickens into the stuff of a Gus Van Sant picture (see My Own Private Idaho), there's nothing original, nor compelling, about Twist.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
07/08/04
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Ultimately more unsavory than enlightening, and would have benefited from a more humorous approach to its purloined themes.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
06/22/04
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

transforming the ending into a more realistic outcome doesn't make this provocative arthouse fare

Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
06/18/04
John A. Nesbit
ToxicUniverse.com
Ratings Image

Exceptional performances and effective raw moments, but too sordid for enjoyment.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
06/07/04
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca
Ratings Image

Not much happens in Twist, apart from a dismal series of personal degradations, each more depressing than the last.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
06/04/04
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
See More Topics...

Related Forums for Twist

Real Boba
MPAA ALERT:"Twist" Rated R for sexual content, drug use, language, & some violence...
by: Real Boba 8/19/04


Real Boba
MPAA ALERT:"Twist" Rated R for sexual content, drug use, language, & some violence...
by: Real Boba 8/19/04
See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
FRESH: 1 93% Iron Man
FRESH: 2 85% Forgetting Sarah Marshall
ROTTEN: 3 50% Sex and the City - The…
ROTTEN: 4 52% Leatherheads
ROTTEN: 5 12% Made of Honor

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
ROTTEN: 35 35% You Don't Mess with the Zohan
ROTTEN: 18 18% The Happening
FRESH: 75 75% Paranoid Park
FRESH: 93 93% The Visitor
FRESH: 71 71% Stuck

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Brad Pitt, Florist?

Brad Pitt, Florist?

De Niro, Tucci in What Just Happened

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Plan your costume with our Halloween Guide!

That's Hot

That's Hot

Paris Hilton picks her favorite films.

Toon vs. Toon

Toon vs. Toon

We rank the best animated films of all time!

More Info

RT To Go

Get this widget! Movie Reviews

Around The Network

  • Twist at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Twist at AskMen
 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.