Twist

Story

Talented graffiti artist and street kid, Oliver (Raff Law), finds himself on the run from a traffic officer after he helps a young mother in a sticky situation. He encounters a band of ruffians who immediately see his potential and present him to master thief, Fagin (Michael Caine).

Fagin’s ‘family’ of orphans rob from the rich (and from criminals) to survive. Fagin recruits Oliver to help with a daring art heist, retrieving a priceless painting stolen from Fagin years before.

Oliver soon begins to realise that all is not as it seems. His newfound family, including Red (Sophie Simnett), Dodge (Rita Ora) and Batesy (Franz Dramen), is in danger. The police are after them – and so is the psychotic and menacing Sikes (Lena Headey), an old associate of Fagin’s with her own agenda.

Themes

Loss of parents; loss of family; the fight to simply survive on the streets; child and youth exploitation; revenge

Violence

Twist has some violence. For example:

Someone is pushed off a building. The camera zooms in on the bleeding corpse lying on the ground. Photos of the deceased are later shown to Oliver.
There are many chase scenes where Oliver and others are pursued and things are thrown at them or in their way.
Characters wrestle, punch, hit, shove and kick each other while fighting in a bar.
An officer punches Oliver in the throat and pins him down.
Sikes attacks some police officers. She headbutts, kicks, punches, flips and strangles all the officers until they’re unconscious. She then knocks another character out, punches him in the head, and spits in his face.
Sikes puts a gun to Red’s head and tells Fagan that all the kids are expendable.
Sikes beats Red. The beating isn’t shown but Red comes back battered and bleeding.
Sikes tries to kill Batesy, dumping him in the back of a car.
Sikes shoots Fagan in the back and then shoots at Oliver and Red, who try to escape.
Sikes attacks Oliver and Red. When Oliver clings to the side of a building, she smashes his hands so he’ll loosen his grip and fall.
Sikes is shot in the chest and falls off a building to her death.

Sexual references

Twist has some sexual references. For example:

There is one reference to having phone sex.
Oliver asks Red, ‘Why didn’t you tell me that you were only into girls?’

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Twist shows some use of substances. For example:

Fagin has wine with his dinner.
Patrons of an art gallery drink wine during an exhibition.
Oliver and other young characters brink bottles of beer around a fire. They also drink in a pub where one appears to be drunk.
Sikes smoke cigarettes.

Nudity and sexual activity

Twist has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

Police pull Oliver’s pants off while trying to pull him down from a roof. He runs off in his underwear.
Sikes and Red are or have been in a relationship. Sikes kisses Red on the lips against her will, saying that Red belongs to her.
Twist tries to kiss Red, but she shoves him in the pool. They swim fully clothed and share a passionate kiss before being interrupted. They kiss again later.
Red poses as an art student to get access to an art dealer’s gallery, but he seems more interested in her than in art. He sidles up to her in creepy, sexual way.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Twist.

Coarse language

Twist has some coarse language.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Twist is a modern-day retelling of the 19-century classic, Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens.

The plot of Twist is fast paced and the characters are well cast, but the movie’s content is pitched to older children and adults. This movie isn’t recommended for children under 13 years, and we recommend parental guidance for children aged 13-15 years.

These are the main messages from Twist:

Everyone needs family and a sense of belonging.
Sometimes your morals and integrity are the most valuable things you can ever possess.

Values in Twist that you could reinforce with your children include teamwork, loyalty, creativity, courage and kindness.

Twist could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like the consequences of:

exploiting at-risk teenagers
lying to police
trusting strangers
trying to live life all on your own
making unwanted sexual advances or kissing someone against their will
destroying other’s property or doing graffiti.