The Believer

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Summer Phoenix Director: Henry Bean Original UK Premiere: 2001 Dvd Release: 3rd June, 2002 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen, Region 2 Encoding

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DVD Extras: Although the disc only has one special feature, Anatomy of a Scene, courtesy of the Sundance Channel, it is an interesting & informative dissection of the filming processes, the casting & the controversial & moving script. The visuals are on top form with 16:9 widescreen, but the sound is a disappointment--only mustering a 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo.

With The Believer, his first film as director, screenwriter Henry Bean wastes no time in going for the jugular. In the opening scene a timid Yeshiva student is chased off a New York subway train, racially abused & savagely beaten up by a ranting skinhead, & from then on in the level of hatred & violence rarely abates. But the passion that fuels the film is as much psychological as physical. The skinhead Danny Balint is the film’s protagonist, & his anti-Semitic venom has an unusual cause: he’s Jewish himself.

Bean, whose previous work as a scriptwriter has been accomplished but not exceptional, tackles this fraught subject with a strong sense of personal commitment. He doesn’t go for easy targets, either. Like Edward Nortons character in American History X, Danny is no mindless thug: he’s intelligent & frighteningly articulate, & he can argue his case with mouth & brains no less than with fists & boots. The film traces his attitude back to his schooldays, when he revolted against the unquestioning submission to Orthodox doctrine that his teachers tried to instil. Faced with a group of Holocaust survivors he denounces them for their passivity in the face of oppression. Kill your enemies! he tells them scornfully.

There’s a lot of talk in this film, & several of the characters are little more than mouthpieces for their respective views. But the play of ideas is passionate & deeply felt, & as the tormented Danny, constantly drawn back to the faith he despises, Ryan Gosling gives a riveting performance. This is an intense, anguished film that dares to pose deeply disquieting questions.

Summer Phoenix, born 10 December 1978 in Winter Park, Florida, is an American actress & model & a graduate of the New York University s Tisch School of the Arts. Known mostly for being the younger sister of River Phoenix & Joaquin Phoenix, Summer has appeared in a few artistic / indie movies, including Wasted, The Laramie Project, Esther Kahn, SLC Punk! & The Faculty. She also had guest television roles on ER, Growing Pains, Murder, She Wrote & Airwolf. Formerly a member of Causey Way, along with her sister Rain Phoenix, Summer also appeared, along with Matt Damon & Casey Affleck, at the Garrick Theatre in London, performing This is Our Youth in 2002. She has also performed with Clea Duvall. Allegedly, Summer was named due to her familys happy reaction to returning to the United States after leaving the Children of God. She is an avid supporter of several environmental causes. Summer Phoenix became engaged to Casey Affleck on December 25, 2003 & gave birth to a son, Indiana August, on May 31, 2004, in Amsterdam. Posters Of The Believer

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