"What Ryan brings to the role of Danny is not so much toughness but a kindness and vulnerability beneath the surface that make him such an interesting character." - Henry Bean, director

For those of you who thought "American History X" offered the most poignant and troubling look at modern racism and hatred, a new film comes which supersedes it, "The Believer."

This indie film has two things going for it: ideas and acting. Its theme, a self-hating Jew, is as powerful as its star, Ryan Gosling. Pumped, shaved and bursting at the seams, both intellectually and physically, Gosling gives a powerful performance of a young man so cut by his religious beliefs that he no longer knows what to think, how to live, how to behave, or how to rectify his impulses.

To be sure, a knowledge of Judaism is helpful here. I, to be honest, know very little about the faith. I have only a cursory knowledge of all it entails. "The Believer" assumes you know some things, tries to explain most things (not in a pedantic or heavy- handed way), and gives you enough information to understand the story on a very basic level. I would imagine, however, that there is much more to be gleaned from the film if one is better versed in Judaism.

Part of the faith, it seems, is that there is a contradiction in Judaism where God is considered everything and nothing. Gosling's Danny Balint continually struggles as the film unfolds to rectify this mysterious paradox. He fails miserably. But watching his struggle we begin to understand the deep complexity of not only religious faith, dogma and theology but also human nature, ego, id and society. Danny's plight, as ugly and as angry as it is, cannot stop from touching us and our psyche. Often it is all too easy to see ourselves in him.

Danny's quandary is perfectly exemplified in the film by plot and image. In a sensitivity training class, with his moronic teenage Nazi friends heckling, Danny hears the stories of holocaust survivors. One of these anecdotes becomes fixed on Danny's mind. Angry at the Jewish survivors because they did not fight back, Danny hears the story of a man whose child is killed by Nazi soldiers in his presence. His youthful belligerence on fire, the intelligent skinhead thinks he has nothing to learn from such cowards. But the story plays on Danny's intellect. At first, he sees himself as that soldier when he replays this story in his mind (in black and white flashback sequence for our convenience). But as the film evolves and Danny does as well, he becomes not the soldier but the father. This story (and its cinematic interpretation) perfectly personifies Danny's entire mental struggle, all he is trying to rectify. (In the long run, it also speaks volumes about how important it is to keep these stories of struggle alive, how important it is for us not to forget the past).

For me, as a gay man, to understand Danny, I have to understand a self-hating homosexual. This I understand. I don't experience self- hatred too often; perhaps I have not experienced it since being a young man, but I understand it all too well. Societal and religious beliefs all too often force one to question their identity. It is all too easy to hide and to express hatred for that which we are, not by choice, but by deep, fundamental, personal evolution. Sex and hatred often go hand in hand and this idea is easily expressed in the sado-machismo of some homosexual love and sexuality. In "The Believer," it manifests itself in a sadomasochistic relationship Danny shares with a young woman played by Summer Phoenix.

A truly mind-blowing moment in the film comes when Gosling's Danny explains how important it is for the Jew to be martyr and victim in order to maintain his faith and in order to keep Judaism intact. Danny explains this in a beautiful soliloquy that I could not help but equate with the gay experience in modern America. For if we do not have to struggle do we not lose identity? Is struggle not who we are? Jews and gays can certainly identify with this paradox.

Perhaps those who are white, middle class, suburbanites will find little to relate to here. Perhaps some people live in a world where the idea of Fascism and Nazism is as seemingly dead to them as Communism and the 8-track tape player. For those, "The Believer" will be troubling indeed. For those of us who believe that hatred still exists and that such antiquated notions are not as outmoded as they sometimes seem, the film remains a staunch and clear-cut reminder of how easily one can fall into the trap of hatred.

However, "The Believer" is not a perfect film. In addition to a story that presumes you have some knowledge of Judaism, much of Danny's self-hatred, and vehement hatred of Jews, is hard to swallow. Danny, as personified by Gosling, is a verbose, intelligent, fascinating speaker. His diatribes against Jews as a race are bold and repulsive. Yet, we have little to understand why he comes from this angle. His homelife is all but ignored and a moment where he loses faith in the church and God, while at church school, is not dramatic enough to explain all that he says and presumably feels. Danny's justification for hatred of Jews is that it is ingrained, natural. Like a closet case homosexual, he has taken society's hatred and misunderstanding and turned it inward upon himself. His hatred of the Jew is ingrained in his hatred of himself. He becomes a superman of self-hatred. Still, we struggle to understand his position.

And, even more hard to swallow, is the support he finds in some wealthy society types, played by Billy Zane (as awful as always) and Theresa Russell. Albeit, most of the fascist characters of intelligence in the film argue with Danny about his anti-Semitic ways, but their inability to quiet his voice when he is supposedly working for their cause is sometimes questionable.

More than anything, even the script, however, "The Believer" is a pure testament to the abilities of Gosling. He owns this film. It is through him that we understand and identify with Danny. His wretched hatemonger at the film's beginning is a pure and unvarnished honesty that will repulse. It is only through sheer tenacity and skill that Gosling turns such a monster into someone we empathize with. This is his film all the way and it is one he can be quite proud of.

Note:

Based somewhat on a true incident in 1965.

The film was nominated for several awards, and won some, at several film festivals in 2001. There were several nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards and the film won an audience award at Sundance.

Played on Showtime in March of 2002 before a limited theatrical run began in May of that year.

Report Card Script: A- Acting: A+ Cinematography\Lighting: C+ Special Effects\Make Up: A Music: A Final Grade: A

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