The Believer Details

Though controversy and this true story drama may be inevitable bedfellows, screenwriter-turned-director Henry Bean's feature debut is no cheap-trick shocker. Instead, the story of Danny Balint, a young Jewish New Yorker who rejects his faith in favour of rabid fascism and a role as a neo-Nazi mouthpiece, makes its mark with rawness, intelligence and maturity. Devoid of sensationalism yet truly unnerving, the stomach-churning drama reinforces its grit with choppy camera work and grainy visuals. But, while this tints Bean's captivating tornado of fear, prejudice and shame with an art house hue, the Sundance-winning film retains a mainstream appeal. This is thanks to Ryan Gosling's enigmatic and blisteringly feral lead performance. Like Edward Norton's neo-Nazi turn in American History X and Russell Crowe's in Romper Stomper, it's Gosling's perfectly judged combination of domineering charm, hatred and inner pain that sets the screen alight. Despite many plot strings being left infuriatingly unresolved, The Believer remains a brave and powerful triumph of independent film-making.

"...The film provides horrific rushes generated in equal part by Bean's genuinely intellectually challenging screenplay and an outstanding performance by Ryan Gosling..."