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THE BELIEVER Send This Review to a Friend
Shown first on cable television and now going into theatrical release, "The Believer" is a terribly unsettling film, which, despite the brilliant performance of Ryan Gosling as Danny, a self-hating Jew, is steeped in one obnoxious anti-Semitic situation after another and filled with anti-Semitic diatribes. While there might be justification on the grounds of psychological exploration of such a conflicted character, writer-director Henry Bean seems to be working out his own conflicts without any firm compass, and that leaves a distaste for a film that is consistently offensive and ultimately irresponsible.
How much of Danny's anti-Semitic ravings can one endure without any larger purpose served? The tale is reportedly inspired by a real life situation of a man who joined a neo-Nazi movement in America and threatened to commit suicide if a journalist exposed him. He did and the threat was carried out.
There is no denying that Gosling gives a riveting performance as a bright Yeshiva student who turns against being a Jew and joins a neo-fascist movement that attacks synagogues with his participation. The twist is that for all his self-hatred, there is some pull back to his roots for Danny. Big deal. There is so much viciousness in his character and his identification with Nazism that one is hard-pressed to be concerned over his so-called inner conflicts.
Some might generously call the film complex--it won the 2001 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-- but from this corner it lingers as an affront because its director doesn't appear to have any clear cut purpose other than sensationalism. Wrapped in such a package, the relentless anti-Semitism looms as disgusting and dangerous with few if any redeeming qualities. There's enough anti-Semitism these days without the voice given it in "The Believer." A Fireworks Pictures release.
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