Such a frustrating disappointment

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Ryan Gosling is the star of this film, by which i mean that all other roles pale by comparison, although Theresa Russell plays her part very well.Gosling is a Jew. And a Nazi. Hmmm...This film is clever. The central idea here is that the way the Jews look at non-Jews could be looked at in the same way that Nazis viewed Jews. They are 'other'. There is an uncomfortable paradox there, and the film is exploring this.Obviously the big political and philosophical themes are important, and big issues feature big (being, as they are, big). But the thing that sticks out most for me is the performance of Ryan Gosling.His character Danny Balint, is in conflict. With himself. With Judaism. With the world. He is a tortured and confused young man, trying to make sense of a world that makes no sense.He is also super-bright, and a violent thug. A very scary combination.Obviously, a great actor (for that is what Gosling is) can do nothing without a superb script and fab direction. A lot of thought has gone into this film. Gosling manages to convince us that he is a devout Jew, on the one hand, and terminally ashamed of this on the other.This film is genuinely delicious. But one helping is enough. This is not powder-puff politics, and is not the kind of film you rewind immediately and watch again. This is disturbing stuff, brave and provocative. How will Danny's conflicts resolve themselves?Watch it to find out - you will not regret it.

Loosely based on a real person, Ryan Gosling plays a right-wing Nazi who is actually Jewish. While he spends his time hating Jews and joining a Jew-hating group, he struggles his internal conflict. On the one hand he has a lot of respect to his religion and culture, on the other hand he hates it and his people. While many of the people in the group are just ignorant thugs, he is obviously one of the most intellectual people in the group.Very interesting subject (even more when you know it's actually (loosely) based on a real person) which raises some interesting questions.Ryan Gosling is very good in one of the earliest roles. While the movie is interesting, it shows the lack of budget and lack of experience by a first time director. The script itself could have also use some polishing and I didn't like the cinematography which uses close-ups way too often.Still, it's an interesting story with good points, good questions and good acting by Gosling - and the fact that I saw it at least 3 times by now proves something too.

This stirred up a lot of controversy when it was released . Up and coming pretty boy actor plays violent neo-Nazi in no holds barred indie film examining racial hatred and what sets THE BELIEVER apart from its peers is that it's 1 ) Based on a true story 2 ) The violent protagonist is from an orthodox Jewish background himself Now that the controversy has died to such an extent you're left thinking if there was any controversy at all then what we're left with is a movie that is confused and totally underdeveloped . So much so that I have no hesitation that this is a fairly dreadful movie regardless of its content Early on we're shown via flashback the protagonist Danny Balint struggle to believe that the Abrahamic God he is taught about at school is a benevolent loving God and the audience are left thinking he's no different from the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens in that God is the cruellist , most sadistic character in fiction . Effectively Danny's rage doesn't come from his views on race but from religion . In fact the film ends with a character telling him " Don't go up there. There's nothing there " which can be interpreted as going to heaven . But the way rest of the film has been badly developed this is surely coincidence rather than subtext Things happen in the film that are never followed up on and remain unexplained . Danny gets together with like minded violent Nazi types , or should that be stereotypes ? They're portrayed in such a one dimensional manner you're almost expecting them to burst in to Springtime For Hitler . They decide to bomb a Synagog but not before Danny tells them to leave the Judiac scripture alone . Luckily the bomb doesn't go off and one wonders if Danny had something to do with this , but this is never followed up . Likewise a sniper attack where Danny misses his target and one of Danny's colleague is wounded comes to nothing . Throughout the movie you're expecting Nazi characters we were introduced to earlier in the film to re-appear and add something to the plot but people appear then disappear from the narrative without explanation or follow through This is a painfully ill thought out film that leaves the audience thinking what the point of the film is . It does touch upon the suggestion that some of the hierarchy of Nazi Germany were of distant Jewish descent themselves hence a bitter irony but like everything else in the movie you never believe this is what the film is trying to tell us. It's confused storytelling at its very worst BTW the selling point that it's based on a " true life character " , namely Daniel Burros is merely artistic license . It's " a true story " in much the same way Michael Bay's PEARL HARBOR is a true story . In other words it's a cynical marketing excersise . In the words of Public Enemy don't believe the hype

I don't understand how this movie received a 7.3 rating. The movie was a solid disappointment the whole way through. It made little sense and was poorly written and acted. The acting at times was atrocious. Also the constant loud cheesy music throughout the show at apparently dramatic scenes was cringe worthy. I am a massive fan of Ryan Gosling but this was one of his worst movies. If it wasn't for him this movie would have been completely unwatchable. The rest of the actors were completely terrible. I am really being generous giving this movie a 3. I wanted to give it zero out of ten but it only got a 3 just because Ryan Gosling did an alright job working with very little. There is nothing in this movie that is deep or makes you think. Although, it is apparent that it was meant to. I feel like I just wasted my life watching this garbage. If you want to watch a good movie along the same lines, but done correctly, with great acting, an amazing plot and a brilliant ending that was actually written by someone who was intelligent then I recommend American History X.