Deep convictions can be wrong and make you do crazy things

Rating: 10/10 (1 March 2002)

Every once in a while a movie comes along that's about something, and this is one of them. It's intense and for the most part riveting. It's high rating on IMDb is well deserved.
It's weak points, though few, are unfortunate -- making it a really good movie instead of a classic for the ages. Edward Norton as the Derek the skinhead who goes all the way and then sees the light was a bit too intelligent and sensitive to be fully believable. (Perhaps it was because I just saw him recently in Fight Club, and kept seeing a yuppy under the muscles and Nazi tatooos.) Avery Brooks as the black mentor I didn't like much -- he seemed to be a bit too smirky, as though he had all the answers. Also the ending was predictable and a bit overblown. In general toward the end the movie begins to lose its grip, shifting safely into the politically correct. The effect is a sense of betrayal of the gritty reality portrayed earlier. It didn't have to spell out a message -- we already got it.
The really standout performances are all by secondary characters: Stacy Keach as the manipulative organizer, Fairuza Balk as Derek's neo-nazi's girlfriend, Guy Torry as the fellow prisoner who helps Derek come around.