Neo Ned

I really enjoyed it! I saw Mrs. Union sitting a few rows in front of me before the films started and not knowing who she was, made a mental note to try and talk to her after the film (Once the film started and I saw she was one of the leads I decided to abandon that idea! :))

But back to the film, let's start with the end, it actually brought an emotional tear to my eye and although at least part of the ending is predictable I found the other part of the ending a nice surprise. Both lead were great, the guys who plays Ned was awesome, great character, great acting. It must be had to act as someone who is supposed to be acting a part, and still let the true inside person shine through. Ms. Union's part was more subdued, but just as well played; she was a Martin to his Lewis, giving the viewers a person who was easier to relate to.

A fine film! I hope it gets the release it dissevers.

One last note. One guy in the audience was "disturbed" by the use of race in the film, he thought it was treated too lightly, but I feel race in this film was more like window dressing; it was a means to an end. This film is not about a white neo Nazi and an emotionally disturbed black woman (well I guess it is on the surface); it's really about two dysfunctional people who try to help each other like GARDEN STATE. But Neo Ned works better than Garden State and has almost as good a soundtrack.

I just saw this movie at the Ashland Independent Film Festival and it was amazing. The acting was top notch, the script great, the story interesting and compelling. It was absolutely hilarious and heartwarming, while maintaining that rare sense of reality. It was all around a good quality movie. Don't let the scary and twisted plot outline throw you off, the movie is about so much more. Gabrielle Union and Jeremy Renner had great chemistry on screen and they both did well in their respected roles. I would highly recommend this film to anyone and I would love to see it hit theaters nationwide. The rest of the audience I saw it with enjoyed it as much as I did. Afterward there was a Q&A session with Van Fischer the director, one of the producers and one of the actresses, it was pretty awesome. again, highly recommend, go see it when it comes near you, you wont be disappointed.

-Dooder

On paper it sounds pretty far-fetched: neo nazi skinhead falls in love with a black girl in a mental institution - who may or may not think she is possessed by Hitler's ghost. Wow. But somehow it works. There is a surprisingly healthy dose of and humor - and heart - which makes this story palatable and involving, rather than just unrelentingly grim. The actors are sturdy throughout - Gabrielle Union proves she's not such a pretty face - I wish Hollywood would take better advantage of her; she is an actress of depth and true beauty. Jeremy Renner proves that his work in "Dahmer" (rather than in mainstream fare like, say, "S.W.A.T.") was no fluke. He is amazing. When Sally Kirkland gets a role of substance, as she does here, it becomes clear why she's been kicking around Hollywood for so long. She's terrific. Good work also by Steve Railsback and Cary Elwes. The budget on this one is low, but it is more involving and entertaining than a lot of other stuff that's playing in the multiplexes. 8/10.

An unusual romantic comedy tackling taboo subjects is the basis for Neo Ned, a white supremacist with a violent nature who, while staying in a psychiatric hospital, meets a Rachael, a black woman who thinks she's Hitler. As an unlikely attraction forms between the two, they abscond together, are introduced to Ned's talk-show addict mother and a cop who arrested Ned as a married couple, and blunder their way through a relationship to a surprise ending with a bloody twist.

We suspect early on that neither character is quite as clear-cut as they seem. When not spouting defiance in German, Rachael is mild mannered and almost like an insightful social worker to Ned, who has a tantrum when he can't get sugar on his toast (but explains that he has to 'keep up his reputation' as a psycho). In one of his milder moments, Ned says to Rachael, "Just cos I'm a racist doesn't mean I'm not sensitive." When he makes a Nazi-style collage for her, she tears off and keeps only the corner where he has written, "To Rachel, from your friend Ned." The oddball element of the characters provides some of the charm as well as much unsettling humour. Ned's mother, who has appeared on six Jerry Springer -type chat shows to eulogise her 'misunderstood son' is at first shocked at his liaison with a black woman but then she sees the potential and gets on the phone to TV producers the minute the happy couple leave. "Every mother should love their child, no matter what," she proclaims, with well-rehearsed, realistic tears. The phrase has hidden irony when we learn later about Rachael's childhood.

Neo Ned is a clever concept and delivered with varying degrees of success. It will have aficionados while boring the pants off others. Ned's gritty antics will thrill some as harmless escapist entertainment, not to be taken seriously and definitely not emulated. The script has an ingenious overall pattern but sags in many parts as it slowly builds up the pieces of a jigsaw. If you are offended by bad language, it's one to avoid, but otherwise it does contain a few gems such as, when trying with his limited vocabulary to backtrack after a night of playing away, Ned exclaims, "I wish to God I could take that back - I wish I could unf*ck her!" Although much of the pacing struck me as slow, this is really a film that lulls you into to thinking one thing so it can hit you between the eyes with something else. As a romantic comedy, I didn't find it very believable, although I admit I warmed to it as we found out more about Ned's character. This is quite intentional, as the film is a journey of self-discovery and finding there is more to a person than is immediately apparent. On a second level, it examines racism, and although it is a fairly intelligent insight, I didn't feel it added anything new. Finally (in the last scenes) it hits us with an eye-for-an-eye retributive philosophy, which some people may find worrying and others agree with (and the audience is encouraged to agree). It struck me that the film has done well on the U.S. festival circuit and I will be curious to see if fares as well in the UK or Europe - where our penal system is less retributive - we generally don't believe in killing people whether as capital punishment or otherwise. Racial tensions outside of the U.S. tend to follow very different patterns and I wonder if audiences will relate to it as well in countries that have had little history of Klu Klux Klan or extremist movements that, strangely enough, also echo certain aspect of Nazi intolerance.

Neo Ned is not one of my favourite films. I disliked its treatment of violence and I lost interest several times in the first half. But it is one that people will have strong opinions about, for and against, so you might want to watch it and disagree with me.

This is the best work I have seen Jeremy Renner do. I didn't think he could top his performance in "Dahmer" but this performance is even more exceptional - powerful, humane and heartbreaking. Gabrielle Union who plays opposite Renner's "Ned," is equally good, and it as much her character's story as it is Ned's. I don't want to reveal any "spoilers" but suffice to say, this is an unpredictable movie with a lot of unexpected surprises. I hope this film gets a bigger release, as it is really a movie that might change peoples' minds about prejudice and how love can heal the most wounded of hearts. And it's a good example of how an independent movie with a low budget can outshine a summer full of cookie cutter blockbusters. This film isn't perfect but there is an earnestness that is refreshing. It's an uncynical piece of work. Kind of rare in Hollywood.