Review of The Believer (2001) by Brendan P — 13 Jan 2009

A powerful, albeit somewhat underwritten, study of the sometimes ambiguous nature of hatred and prejudice. Ryan Gosling's firecracker of a performance is the obvious hi-light, brilliantly conveying all of the confusion and misplaced passion of a Jewish Neo-Nazi.

The Believer is more than just a performance vehicle for Gosling however, the direction of Henry Bean captures the tone of the material just right and is occasionally quite imaginative. However while Bean succeeds behind the camera his writing stalls the film from true greatness.

He seems to lack the finesse to eloquently express everything that he wants to say, and story consistently seems to gag on itself and come across unclear and vague. But at the same time I think a lack of certainty is conducive to Gosling's character, and that lack of a clear message also works on the film's benefit.

A bit of a double edged sword obviously. Personally I would recommend this to anyone really interested in the subject matter, as I think any flaws the film has are overcome by it's integrity and the amount of things to ponder the director throws at you, even if it is sometimes in a messier form than we might like.