neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The Believer
	Henry Bean Ryan Gosling, Theresa Russell, Billy Zane, Summer Phoenix 2001		Painful, indelible profile of a young neo-Nazi with an unbelievable secret: He's an Orthodox Jew. Personified with white-hot intensity by Ryan Gosling ("Murder by Numbers"), Danny is a grimly intelligent New York kid with ample knowledge of the Torah, but his belief in the tenets of Judaism is shaky and his wavering faith smacks of self-loathing. As the film revs up, he chooses to embrace a cell of white supremacists, even going on violent rampages with his savage fellow skinheads. Danny gravitates to right-wingers Curtis (Billy Zane) and Lena (Theresa Russell) who oversee the fascist "study group" and try to tap the erudite brute's potential to recruit wealthy contributors. Danny is also drawn to Lena's sensuous daughter (Summer Phoenix), and an internal war between his conflicting beliefs begins to tear him apart. Director Henry Bean's screenplay was sparked by the true story of an American Nazi who killed himself after his Jewish roots were revealed. "The Believer" is forbidding material, done skillfully.