Powerful and unforgettable.

Rating: Null/10 (25 October 2003)

Undoubtedly the talented and brilliant Ed Norton's finest performance. Norton is cast as the brutal, unsentimental skinhead Derek Vinyard. The film is told from two separate yet somewhat parallel stories. Half of it in film noir black and white flashbacks and the other half in color. The color portions center on Derek and his younger brother, Danny played honestly and superbly by Ed Furlong. The latter on Derek and his metamorphosis into the psychotic white supremacist. Without question, Norton's strong, central performance shines through in the film both as the incorrigible skinhead and as the reformed realist. There was large controversy surrounding the film's original release. Director Kaye wanted his name removed entirely from the credits because Norton had re-edited the film considerably from Kaye's original piece. Be that as it may, the film remains a masterpiece about urban racial conflicts, wars and prejudice. Norton and Kaye's film is honest, shocking, often brutal and always engaging. A must-see for teenagers and parents of teenagers alike.