The Believer (2001)

** ½ out of ****

Since the age of 16, I have always been fascinated by religion. Not having any particular faith myself, I make a habit of asking believers why they believe and non-believers why they don't. On only very rare occasions have I ever met anyone that had a good reason either way, and often I have found people that claim not to believe to be horribly conflicted – that they are not actually non-believers, rather people who have some kind of problem with the religion they grew up in.

“The Believer” follows a young man with similar conflicts. Ryan Gosseling is Daniel, a rabidly anti-semetic skinhead who makes a hobby of tormenting Jews for sport. We learn early on that he admires the third reich and wants to reinstate a program of systematically eradicating all Jewish people. He becomes aligned with a fascist group who are in turns compelled and disgusted by his aspirations.

However, we suddenly come to find that David himself IS Jewish. Raised in the church, attending Hebrew school, and clearly very intelligent, he raised the ire of his teachers with his open doubt about God's word and deeds. But rather than try to deal with his curiosity and defiance with understanding and discussion, he was met with anger and demands. As a result, the youthful David fell away and has decided to cleanse the world of what most torments him.

And he most definitely is tormented. When he and some of his allies break into a synagogue to plant a bomb (designed to explode during temple to kill as many Jews as possible) he is starkly offended when they disrespect, tear and spit on a Torah scroll. Later he returns alone and steals the scroll so he can repair it. And as a result of his remembering many of the things he grew up learning, his hatred for the Jews starts to convert into what it really was all along – a hatred of himself and his unwillingness to submit to God.

“The Believer” is a fascinating movie. In turns disgusting and beautiful in the development of Daniel's character, it shows an inner conflict many young people suffer through when they become old enough to really consider the things their religion taught them growing up. That isn't to say many people become haters of their own religion or race, rather they come to hate themselves for not having the faith their elders taught them is a virtue. The parallels are many and obvious, and I enjoyed how they explored this in Daniel's specific circumstances.

Personally, I have no religion. I don't think it's impossible that there could be a God but as a young man I decided that no religion had any more claim to represent an actual deity than any other. So I remain open minded and respectful of all beliefs, though I also know that no organized religion could ever hold much for me. However I see how easy it would have been to become hateful, and though I think it would be a very rare case that someone could go to the extremes that Daniel did, if there is any self-doubt in a person's rejection of religion I can see how they could be angry and self-loathing as Daniel is.

Ryan Goseling is very good in the lead role – better than I personally would ever have thought him capable of. And while the film itself isn't a great one, it is incredibly intriguing to anyone who considers things like religion, and the evolution of Daniel is gripping. The final scene is also pretty compelling – one I would love to have a discussion group about the meaning of with a bunch of similarly curious individuals.

Not for all tastes, but intriguing. I have no doubt I will watch it again.