mathewazaria Great film that sends a powerful message and I hope everyone watches it to see the effects racism has. A s a Jewish person I found telling of anti Semitic beliefs is important. Henry Bean did his best work here in my opinion and Ryan Gosling gave his best performance. It is R-rated for good reasons but I think everyone should see it as soon as they turn of age. It's another American History X but even better! I think that it works as a film and works as a human story and as a drama. The story is written well. The film comes from a great script and is great. This is me. Mathew Azaria. And my review of the believer! Have a great time watching this classic!

The Squeerelist I recently came across The Believer (directed and written by Henry Bean) starring Hollywood heartthrob Ryan Gosling in one of those tortured roles that fit him perfectly. Ryan is Danny Balint, a former yeshiva student that turned into a neo-Nazi. Directly based on the true story of Daniel Burros, this psychological struggle mastered by the intense performance of Ryan Gosling will pin you to your seat. Henry Bean managed to capture the raw emotions of his main character authentically played by Gosling. There is definitely more than abs to the former Disney child star. I was struck by Gosling's performance as a clever but psychologically-troubled mind. His intensity is captivating and the tension he builds within himself is somewhat close to insanity. In The Believer, I witnessed the brutality of Danny's words and actions but I couldn't help but feel bad for the poor guy and the deep struggle he has to face. At first, I obviously hated the character for being such an inhuman monster but when I discovered his demons and his love/hate relationship with his own God and religion, I had trouble being that resolute about his fate. The monologues made me clench my jaw and the constant violence of his deranged self challenged me as a passive viewer. This movie treats a topic not necessarily well-known by everyone: self-hatred in the Jewish community. If you think of starting a collection of neo-Nazism-related movies: The Believer is the one to put right next to the brilliant but different American History X.1 reason to watch: The mesmerizing performance of Gosling on the intense paradox that is self-hatred in the Jewish community of contemporary New York City.Read it here: http://squeerelist.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-believer- 2001.html

Rachel Filmer This film was powerful and compelling, but the overwhelming feeling was that it's incomplete in many aspects. I dislike films that spoon-fed the audience and telegraph their punches, but there were so many elements that needed further exploration.For example, the character of Carla left me feeling disturbed, not because of her behaviour but because her character was so under-developed. All we know of her background is that her father is a suicidal inmate of a mental institution and that she is sleeping with her mother's boyfriend. Why is this girl so damaged? Her behaviour is alarming - as a viewer, I need something in order to see her as a person rather than a freakish collection of traits. Daniel wants to save her life desperately in the end - why? The film does not show there to be any genuine connection between the two of them - it seems she's increasingly seduced by Judaism and he's increasingly disinterested in her.This flaw is present in every aspect of the film - we see Danny as perhaps a 13 year old intelligent student with controversial thoughts on Judaism, and next as a twenty-something neo-nazi. Why? Perhaps the writer/director could say that it's more interesting to leave this open but to me this is a cop-out since it's a difficult journey to chart in such a short time. I believe this arc is more than possible, but the details of his journey are important. Perhaps they could explain away other flaws: such as why he is willing to blow up a synagogue but cries when his fellow Nazis desecrate the Torah. There are issues like this throughout - he is clearly conflicted, but neither the writing nor the direction let us in to his mind.One thing that is clear throughout is that Judaism is deeply entrenched within him - his hatred and anger is towards the Jewish people for what he perceives to be their weakness. From the start of the film, he is desperate for them to fight back, to take a stand against their repeated and constant persecution. His desire to kill a Jew is another interesting point - does he want to kill Jews or put them into a scenario where they can fight back? It's interesting that he sees them as weak when the Jews within the film are frequently portrayed as being strong for precisely the same reasons, especially in the scene with the holocaust survivors. This scene, along with the opening and the initial synagogue scene were enormously unsettling: the film provoked a strong physical reaction in me, leaving me sickened by much of the dialogue and action. However, I did not feel mentally challenged as, without elaborating on many important issues, it felt somehow vacuous. The ending fulfils two of Danny's prophecies: that he will kill a Jew, and that he will kill himself if his background is publicly revealed. Danny kills only himself and directs his hatred to its ultimate source: himself. This would be far more powerful if we understood his reasons for hating his religion and himself. As it stands, the only reason I felt anything was Gosling's exceptional performance which manages to strike a balance between vitriol and deep sadness.I can only conclude, or hope, that the film has been heavily cut. The meat of an excellent film is here, but it's missing the skeleton that would make it great. There are many comparisons here to American History X - The Believer is perhaps a more honest, and certainly a more complex, film in that it avoids the easy resolution (Danny does not reject his entire ideology but succumbs to his own confusion). However, it's not the better film - this is a shame, as it could have been, with improvements to the script. Gosling's performance is powerful and believable, the content is intelligent and thoroughly researched, the outlook is risky and unflinching. The problem is, we don't ever get to really understand the protagonist as we must in order to be deeply affected.Therefore, this film - which could have been a 10 with some attention - barely scrapes a 6, and I'd say Gosling is responsible for the majority of that, alongside an interesting premise and some excellent, highly intelligent dialogue. It's definitely worth watching, but be prepared for some problems.

LeonLouisRicci Somewhat unbelievable story of a Jewish rebel. The portrayal of the protagonist as a Neo-Nazi is unconvincing in parts, mostly in his, what seems artificial, love of Torah and the religion he seems to respect but not embrace and intellectually can not submit.These affectionate displays and attachment to the doctrine and dogma are delivered in a rather teleprompter mode as if he is reciting and not truly reflecting on the religious teaching. What is convincing is his disdain and hatred for the pious and superior PEOPLE who practice the rituals and refuse to take a demonstrable stand against its own suffering.What is needed here for the film to be totally successful is the believability of both sides of his inner conflict. His respect for the artifacts and tradition come across as lip service, but his overwhelming overtures and monologues against the Jews come from a deep place and the superficial submission he witnesses from his his fellow clansman are riveting.