A touch over-dramatic but otherwise a perfect film

Rating: 8/10 (22 June 2005)

Yes, I agree, the slow-motion portions are there to make the scenes more dramatic than they need to be. Yes, the black and white for the flashbacks was unnecessary, but overall, this film has done for racism what Homeroom and Elephant did for school shootings.
There is no explanation why Derek becomes a neo-nazi, yes his father was probably a part of it, as well as just being young and influenced by Cameron. It could also be attributed to his surroundings, the way he grew up, but there is no clear answer and that is what makes it so powerful. The fact that you don't have to be poor, you don't have to grow up in terrible surroundings, or have your parents influence you, to hate people that much.
Edward Norton's performance was brilliant, his tone and body language was spot-on, although whenever he cried I was reminded that it was an actor playing a part and not Derek Vineyard. Edward Furlong may have been miscast but he still pulled Danny off very well, the voice-overs being perfectly apathetic.
The cinematography was beautiful, the arrest scene when there was an American flag in the background behind Danny while the policeman was covering Derek's swastika, and the end scene was an amazing reminder of Lester in American Beauty. Red on white will always be the most powerful colors in my mind.
Overall, I loved this film, not because it was "edgy" but because it, overall was better than 99% of the films I have seen and it left me shaking and in tears at the end, that is what I call a powerful film.