Rent The Believer (2001)

Provocative & Nasty - The Believer review by GI

A provocative and at times uncomfortable drama thematically centred on the issue of belief and the consequences of rejecting it. Loosely based on a real story Ryan Gosling plays Danny, a member of a thuggish Nazi gang who dream of killing Jews. When he is recruited by a racist couple (Theresa Russell & Billy Zane), he not only begins a relationship with their daughter (Summer Pheonix) but is soon revealed as a jew himself by a journalist who has infiltrated the group. There's some disturbing scenes focused around extreme anti-semitism and other racist views and whilst Gosling is riveting as the conscience torn Danny, he's also a very unpleasant character with a story arc that is difficult to navigate. The flashbacks to his childhood where he questions the dogma he is taught in school and his visions of being a murdering nazi soldier during the Second World War are often a jarring and possibly cheap attempt at explaining why such people exist. This film has been applauded but it's a nasty story aiming to reveal the awful side of modern society.