Ed Norton, Edward Furlong
Dir. Tony Kaye
Thoughts: This is the first time I've seen this film. With that said, I don't know how to feel about it.
Norton does a fantastic job with Derek Vinyard, for starters. Easily my favorite part of the film was his scene at the dinner table. It has a nice gradual build, with the one-sided argument as Derek takes over the conversation and lets the audience know a bit more about his extreme disliking for those that aren't white Protestants. Then, after the climactic blow-up and frantic action, we're given perhaps the most important shot of the film: Derek, standing in the main hallway, looking at his mother. In this moment, we see both sides of Derek: on the outside, there is the hard, ruthless man who is impossible to reach or talk to; but in his eyes, we see someone who feels much more than he lets on, someone who still has a soul. In this moment, we believe the new Derek, the transformed person.
I'm having a hard time grasping the rest of the film. Certainly it brings up the point that insensible hatred leads to consequential decisions, that which cannot be erased. It does a good job of getting this point across without beating you over the head with preachy talk of how 'we all need to love each other, man!' But, for some reason, I can't get a hold of what this film is really saying to me. Maybe I need to watch it again, to go through the film and pay attention to the themes and motifs a little more.
I do like this film, especially for Norton's performance. I think I need another viewing or two to really let it sink in and see what the film is saying to me.
My favorite thing about the dinner scene is instead of making you say "wow, he really IS bigoted!", you say "Wow, he really IS smart!" He dominated the argument because of the wonderful writing and acting put into the character, even overcoming the fact that almost all viewers will disagree with what he's arguing for.
ReplyDelete