Steel Toes

Mike Downey (Andrew Walker) is a white supremacist skinhead. He is arrested for beating up an immigrant as a hate crime. Liberal Jew Danny Dunkelman (David Strathairn) is assigned as his defense lawyer. Mike is a young angry man. Danny is confronted by family and friends. Both struggle to come to terms with their beliefs.

This is mostly a two person play. Strathairn is a class act and his greatness is expected. Andrew Walker is equally amazing. As for the play, some parts of it is poignant while other parts feel overwrought. It's walking on a knife's edge. The movie has both types of moments. It can be powerful one moment and fake the next. It's definitely pushing its agenda very hard and it can feel preachy. Some of it feel fake and rubs me the wrong way.

The movie is fairly well acted and produced, however the movie lacks originality, warmth, and anything that would make the tale necessary to tell.

Forgiveness is the primary theme, but never fully explored. The interesting plot points, such as the Lawyer's family shunning him for defending the skinhead, are left unfinished.

The ending leaves you feeling downhearted rather than uplifted. The skinhead's change of heart is hard to take seriously.

The character's motivations needed to be explored more. This seems like an empty "After School Special."

Serious flaws in the script,and pacing in this movie. I had enough of the movie halfway in,was extremely slow and going too and from,and backwards,and forwards.... Boring overall!

Little film with giant acting especially by Andrew W. Walker and David too off course!

David Gow wrote it first as a play between a Canadian Jewish attorney, Danny Dunckelman and a Canadian white nationalist skinhead, Michael Downey. The actors were played by David Straithairn and Andrew Walker. They did a terrific job. Straithairn played the role on stage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When the director and screenwriter, David Gow, made the movie. Straithairn jumped at the chance to play the role onscreen. It's a powerful movie even if it's not evident. Andrew Walker did a terrific job as the remorseless racist skinhead.