A new documentary that takes a look at a team of professional blackjack players who share spiritual ties, Holy Rollers proves to be a well-told story with ups and downs that you might not anticipate going in. When you hear the concept for this film, the initial reaction is that this is probably going to be a cutting look at religion; a treatise on the hypocrisy that allows churches to preach morality while at the same time hold events like casino nights. But that’s not the sort of film this is at all. Holy Rollers isn’t here to either praise or condemn organized religion; instead it’s focused on shedding some light on the niche world of mathematicians who make a living by raising large sums of money and gaming casinos as a collective.
I say that the film has ups and downs because the way you feel about this game and the people who play it is always changing. At first, when the subjects are explaining their method and crowing about how much money they handle, they come off as smug and you want them to get knocked down a peg. But then, when you see how the casino targets them and kicks them out of their establishments just because they’ve gotten good at their stupid games, which seem to have a floating set of rules depending on how much money you’re winning, you want to see them take down the predatory institutions who happily take the public’s money and then act like bratty children knocking the pieces off of a game board when they start to lose.
Still, though the changes of perspective on this ridiculous way of living were welcome, getting a look at the ins-and-outs of playing cards for a living wasn’t something that worked all that well to hold my attention. It’s only in the third act when the team starts to underperform and questions of thievery and possible scapegoating along religious and non-religious lines occurs that the movie really sunk its claws into me. If director Bryan Storkel could have taken the confident hand with which he puts this film together and used it to hone in on that particular conflict, I think this one could have been something really special. As is, it’s capable doc work that’s engaging enough to not be a bore, but probably best suited to those already interested in the world of professional gambling.
