A realistic study of race relations

Rating: 10/10 (18 October 2007)

This film is a great study of race relations, without resorting to the usual "polically correct " diatribe's.
Edwards Norton (Derek in the film) makes one of his greatest performances as the son of a fireman who was killed by blacks while reporting to a fire. The trauma that his sons experience leads Derek (Edward Norton) into the path of the white supremasive movement. He becomes a skinhead who rallies other disaffected whites into a movement that rejects not only blacks but also Asians, and those of Spanish heritage. He becomes a hero to the white supremacists and organizes attacks against those he blames for his father's death.
He winds up in prison for the death of several blacks who tried to either steal of damage his car. Whether those black were stealing or vandalizing car remains vague in the story line. Never-the-less he ends up in prison for three years where he learns first hand the hypocrisy of race relations. He befriends a black inmate who was mistreated by the criminal justice system, and soon reject his affiliation with the white/Aryans crowd.
A commentary on this film cannot be complete without mentioning DR. Sweeney. A black professor who encourages his students to write an essay about issues of civil rights. Derek's brother writes about Mein Kampf. At about the same time Norton gets released from prison and goes about rejecting his path of hate.
This is one of the best film I've watched. I highly recommend viewing this film. It'll tap into our most internal biases.