by no means black and white

Rating: 9/10 (9 September 2008)

It's important to retain a sense of objectivity throughout this film, which keeps skewing and provoking reaction and consideration with controversial situations, imagery and dialogue that explores the dangerous and volatile issue of racism and social tensions in brutal depth. it's not perfect but in dealing with such complex and deeply rooted societal flaws, prejudices and ignorance it tests the viewer and forces lengthy consideration and discussion. it is an engaging, magnificently powerful and important article.
Norton steals the show with his fierce and terrifyingly focused portrayal of young front leader Derek Vinyard, while John Connor - a perfectly cast Furlong - plays his impressionable brother Danny, handed a special assignment by his black head-teacher, to write an examination of the racial hostility issue relating to Derek, his family and society in modern America. Derek is released from prison that day.
what unfolds is a compelling story brought together through flashbacks, dialogue, confrontations and self reflection that does not hold back, a difficult amalgam of social conflict that plays out in the most destructive and devastating way possible to examine the reactions of the participants. Derek's was a once prosperous family in a nice house, until fire-fighting father was shot putting out a blaze at a crack den; Derek allied with the manipulative Cameron, asserting his dominance playing a black gang off the basketball court. at school Danny defends Malcolm in the middle Francis from a couple of black kids, which will have repercussions.
the cinematography and shot selection is crisp and evocative and important scenes are slowed down for maximum impact; a haunting choir and score reinforces the conflagrations, murders and epiphanies that yank this movie from hope to despair, hard-line racism to bright-eyed acceptance. the flashbacks appear in black and white, a none-too-subtle nod towards the racial conflict this film deals with, as well as a contrast with the colourful present; in the past things seemed clear-cut. due to events, relationships and revelations, Derek and by extension Danny through his assignment see through the hypocrisies; it's a lot more complicated then the sheep mentality of the conflicts and societal effects involving gangs, immigrants, community and country.
Derek violently killed 2 of 3 Crips who tried to rob his dad's car, enraging him to gleefully perform that brutal curb-stomp; he got 3 years. Danny goes to a party held to honour Derek's release but Derek defiantly attempts to turn his mind from the vengeful Neo-Nazism fostered by Cam, the suitably repulsive Seth etc. and onto their family, now living in a cheap apartment, struggling onwards. we are treated to flashbacks of Derek discussing social problems at dinner with a focused ferocity that underpins the misguided anger fuelling it, a store robbery he lead and his difficult time in prison, which includes an unlikely friendship with a cheeky black guy who ended up protecting him when the crew of whites that did turned away, ironically because he rejected their pseudo-Neo-Nazism, and symbolically raped him. that head-teacher came to help him, and he renounced his formerly racist ways.
in the morning the police corner Derek to help them with the supremacists, which he is reluctant to do after warning Cam off the previous night, causing a standoff and an escape after which he enlightens Danny to his time in jail and his revelations. they and Danny's insightful and reflective paper are for nought as he is shot in the school toilets by the black kid he stood up to the previous day. Derek cradles him and asks 'what have i done' crying hysterically, the chain of vengeful violence perpetuated in spite of the enlightenment embraced by the Vinyards.
the film only concentrates on the Neo-Nazi side of the issue, creating an imbalance realised when the Crip kids bully Francis and 'smoke' Danny for defending him. they are as aggressively and tragically misguided as the Nazis who oppose them and lament their co-existence, but a lack of focus on them creates an imbalance in the morals the film promotes. Derek is also quick to feel remorse for killing the guys who were, after all, robbing his car, one of whom would have shot him when he opened his door if he hadn't shot the guy first.
the film preaches. if it's not Cam, Derek or Seth, it's the head-teacher. the messages are deceptively attractive and seemingly insightful, like when Derek pigeonholes minorities for social problems and unemployment, then destroying the store, beating up the employees, which presents the blind siege mentality of the rhetoric. it may be somewhat narcissistic that Norton edited more of himself into the film, causing the director to sue no less, but he is definitely the vehicle that drives the twisting perspective, and his fury is riveting.
there is one compelling scene featuring his father reacting negatively towards his reading list, given by that head-teacher, veering from a completely acceptable and justified assertion - the black guys shouldn't have been hired ahead of the white guys who got better scores - to dangerous diatribe - conspiracy involving blacks. this bit of dialogue highlights how complicated and delicately poised the issue is, at all levels, at home, on the basketball court, school, prison, in all society.
this film is as complicated as the issue it's trying to deconstruct, a memorable and ambiguous study that transcends the preaching and brutality and permeates the very direction and intentions of the film itself. it doesn't focus on the black gangs and completely ignores Hispanics, Orientals etc. besides the store attack, but this reflects how skewed the issue is.
hopefully, through the poignant and genuinely painful tragedy that befalls our heartily acted protagonists, the viewer can perceive the utter pointlessness and horrific waste of the hostility from all sides that breeds the problem. if not, the viewer should watch this masterpiece again, for it is a spectacular study of the issue.