Why can't they all be like this?

Rating: 9/10 (26 April 1999)

I just saw this movie for the first time last night and I haven't felt this way since the ending of "The Deer Hunter." It's amazing to see a single film take a character and develop him in such a way that it seems like two opposite and distinct personalities. Ed Norton gave the performance of his life in this movie, and it's too bad that the Academy Award for best actor can't go to two people in a single year. The thing that impresses me the most is the way that they didn't stereotype the characters like they did in "Higher Learning" or make them completely wooden like in "Juice" or "Menace." Norton's shining and most convincing moment didn't even come with dialogue in this film. The flashback scene where Derek just stares at Danny while he gets arrested, with that God-awful grin on his face will probably haunt me for days. I guarantee this movie will be shown in high schools and anger management classes for years to come.