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Directed by: Neal Slavin Starring: William H. Macy, Laura Dern, Meat Loaf, I saw this movie once as a rental and it quickly became a member of my fledgling DVD collection. The story follows Lawrence Neman, played brilliantly and perfectly by William H. Macy as your typical 1940's businessman. New Jewish neighbors lead to a rise of anti-Semitism in his community and when he waffles on taking part in it he gets lumped with "them". I think the movie really hits the nail on the head about how true tolerance is attained. Lawrence isn't a man who seems to have the morals and beliefs of a modern liberal, he's very much a product of his current time and location. It is only when he bevomes a target of hatred and prejudice that he realizes how wrong it is and takes up for his neighbor Mr. Finkelstein. It may seem as if he's only concerned for himself, but in reality I think we all are and this makes the movie that much more realistic. The dialogue is some of the best, while short, I've seen in a movie. Particularly when Lawrence confronts his neighbors about what's going on, when he gets truly mad and we see William H. Macy truly shine. One of the things I liked is that it shows us a period in American history that belonged to "The Greatest Generation" yet we find anti-Semitism that, if not as systemic and deadly as in Germany, is still a violent and disturbing force. This is a movie with one of the most powerful and important messages you will see. RATING: 5 PROS: drat fine acting, sheds light on obscure American history, excellent dialogue CONS: Dern and Macy's romance seems just a bit too central to the story ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246628/
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Aug 16, 2004 00:12
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 19:59 |
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I really enjoyed this movie for the way in which it presented prejudice; and think that for every time high school students sit through Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan in history class, they should sit through one like this twice. William H. Macy was great as always.. although i'm starting to wonder.. Are there any movies out there where he does a good job of playing a character that isn't some neurotic and overcautious guy? Fargo, MAYBE.. but he still played a loser in that.
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Aug 16, 2004 05:06
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It didn't leave much of an impression. I don't think it made its point very well, but at least it was a unique way of doing it. It's too bad because it's a good point to make, but in my opinion didn't quite feel genuine. Rating: 3
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Jan 29, 2005 18:47
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