Intense, Very Very Intense

Rating: Null/10 (1 January 2003)

This movie is awesome for so many different reasons. Edward Norton(I know it's been said) is the GREATEST American actor to come along in a long, long time(I'll admit I'm not very familiar with foreign films, so I won't say greatest actor worldwide, but he's GOT to be one of the best.) He can play any role, from a Catholic priest, to a con man, to a Neo-Nazi, but I think this movie is clearly his most powerful performance. He plays a Neo-Nazi who just got out of jail and has seemingly changed, though we're not really sure what he was like before, though the tattoos in the flashback that opens the movie give us a pretty good idea. The rest of the movie is partial flashback, partial current as he confronts a world he renounced in prison for reasons unknown(until close to the end, but I won't spoil it because the reason has layers upon layers.) and now his former running buddies are wondering what happened to their leader. Furlong's performance was 2D to be sure, but that almost seemed to be what his character was crying out to be. This easily molded follower archetype, and overall he did very well. The supporting characters were all excellent, but of course the blue ribbon goes to Norton for playing two radical extremes in the same movie. This movie does something that most movies about a racial subject matter don't do: it DOES NOT preach. It shows a very gradual, very REAL transformation, not like some ray of light shines on him and suddenly he sees the error of his ways. It takes experience, hardships and incredible agony to even plant the seed of reform in his mind. This movie is very, very powerful and very, very real.