Twist is a modern-day retelling of Charles Dickens’s famous fiction, Oliver Twist. The film, similar to the adapted material, is a singular narrative that follows a street boy named Oliver Twist. It is the adventures of Twist that the plot unfolds in a simple manner without diving deep into symbolism or darkness. Its simplicity is both a boon and curse for the film.
‘Twist’ Summary
During his childhood, Oliver Twist used to live in poverty with her mother, Molly Twist, but they were happy. Her mother found her joy in panting. Together, they used to visit art galleries and discuss great paintings by acclaimed artists. However, soon her mother died out of illness and Oliver becomes an orphan. Unable to accept his mother’s absence, Oliver starts spending his days and night in museums and art galleries. Slowly, he became a Street Thug who resorted to stealing for a livelihood. Oliver is an active roof-jumper, a much-needed skill for any thug. But there is another talent that no one knows about, it’s graffiti art. Something he inherited from his mother.
By a mere chance, Oliver meets a gang of street criminals/ thieves run by an old man named Fagin (Michael Caine). Oliver quickly befriends these humble and high on life petty criminals who make him feel at home. Later, he learns that Fagin has employed these criminals to steal a priceless art collection from an art curator and dealer, Doctor Crispin Losberne. Fagin was an art dealer himself once, but Losberne destroyed him by illegal means. Hence, he is inclined on destroying Losberne.
Fagin and his team coin a plan to steal the curated art from Losberne’s gallery but a tussle inside the gang creates issues. A hothead lady boss, Sikes (Lena Headey) who wants to control Fagin, finds out that Twist has been approached by the police department to rat on the gang. She threatens to kill Twist and that screws the plan further. The film further explores whether the gang would be able to finish the job despite all their indifferences and difficulties.
Major Spoilers Ahead
‘Twist’ Ending Explained
Oliver steals the painting from the auction where Losberne’s painting Hogarth was on display. However, Sikes tries to trick the gang and take the painting and run away. In the end moments, an injured Fagin shoots Sikes and ends her chapter, once and for all.
A few days later, Twist meets the two policemen in a cafe and cunningly hands them an envelope (the same envelope Sikes took away from Fagin). Twist also leaves behind Losberne’s painting that he stole from the auction.
This key opens the door to a secret lockup in Secret London where Losberne hoarded stolen paintings. The police arrest Losberne instantly and throw him behind bars. They deduce that the famous art dealer has been making his fortune selling stolen artworks. Fagin, whose real name is Mr. Issac Solomon has been cleared off from the records and now he can live a simple life. His revenge is finally fulfilled. It was Oliver who stole the envelope from Sikes and found out about the secret lockup.
Oliver, to pay respect to his late mother, Molly Twist puts one of her paintings in the lockup. The painting finds its place in an exhibition in National Gallery. The critics find Molly’s painting a royal piece of art and go gaga over it. Oliver finally fulfills her mother’s dream of becoming an acclaimed artist.
The three remaining criminals from the Fagin gang join hands with Oliver and decide to become Art sellers, selling the remaining paintings of Molly Twist. An artist who is quite a in demand right now.
Twist is a minimalistic approach to the classic adaptation. It doesn’t pick up the metaphors or symbols from Dickens’ original writing and tries to keep the narrative at a superficial level. With that approach, the film had nothing to offer in real. It just runs like a cliche tale of street criminals and robberies. It doesn’t impact the viewers much. It is an art without effort and hence the whole facade is easily forgettable. There is no proper character development or nuances to supplement the performances. Lena Headey was wasted completely, who seemed like-always irritated on screen. Michael Caine as Fagin had nothing much to do. Hence, don’t expect much from the film. It’s plain and without emotions.
Twist is a 2021 Heist film directed by Martin Owen. The film is streaming on Sky.
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