What goes around comes around

Rating: 6/10 (31 July 2012)

Evocative and controversial film deals with a neo-Nazi (Norton) whose life spirals out of control when he's incarcerated for his crimes, and discovers that the road to redemption is not going to be without collisions, irrespective of his contrition and new found respect. Furlong, as his kid brother, idolises Norton and follows him into the false promise of hatred, only to find he's been led astray and faces an even more arduous return from the brink, if he gets that opportunity.
Some interesting commentary concerning the seemingly innocuous origins of racism, how it incubates through adversity and is then practiced by naivety; a condition to be pitied rather than to fuel reverse hatred. Norton is perhaps too accomplished for the material he's given, because despite the film's sombre tone, it's still clichéd and pretty simplistic in its resolutions.
There's plenty of shock value in the beatings and sodomy on offer, but in my opinion, these are milestones in a weak plot that's only vying for conventional pathos. Not strictly the same angle, but I thought "Romper Stomper" was a more atmospheric and seemingly realistic portrayal of the neo-Nazi lifestyle in modern society, sans the Hollywood gloss.