DeniDVD Vault: Neo Ned starring Jeremy Renner
June 14th 2010 04:45
Neo Ned is an endearing story of Ned, a Nazi skinhead who falls in love with Rachel, an African American woman. Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) plays Ned, a troubled young man who experienced an emotionally erratic and unstable childhood as a result of a broken home. His mother has an obsession with appearing on Jerry Springer-like talk shows and his father, whom he idolizes, has spent most of Ned's childhood in prison and his few stints in foster homes has been less than nurturing.
Ned eventually finds some acceptance by joining the Skinheads - his entry is only out of necessity because he has no where else to go. It's a weak bond into a brotherhood that never blossoms because Ned has no grasp of who he is or where he fits in - so he goes through the motions of hate in a desperate need for acceptance.
He's eventually implicated in the murder of a black man but instead of prison-time he's sent to an psyche hospital where he meets Rachel (Gabrielle Union). Rachael is a beautiful woman, a single mother with a 6 year old daughter. She's tormented by her past of sexual abuse. On the verge of a breakdown - she's admitted to the institution believing that she is channeling the soul of Adolph Hitler.
What comes next is an unbelievably sweet courtship peppered with an almost uncomfortable array of racial slurs. I'm amazed at how well it was pulled off but that's due to the remarkable performances by the lead actors. It's obvious even to Rachel that Ned is spewing words and phrases he thinks he's supposed to say in the presence of an enemy he's told to hate even when he's not sure why - and Rachael deflects the assault by treating him with a calm acceptance because she sees through the tough exterior and recognizes the wounds that run deep because they echo her own.
Jeremy Renner and Gabrielle Union
Ned is discomforted by his attraction to her and in a will not of his own, he seeks her out and just when they begin to form a tentative bond, Ned is released from the hospital because the insurance won't cover him anymore. He's heartbroken at being forced to leave another family-like substitute and more importantly he's doesn't want to leave Rachael. Instead of using his bus ticket home, he steals a car and follows her to an outing at the Zoo, where he talks her into running away with him.
Ned and Rachael try to carve out a life of their own but too often their pasts are just not far enough behind them to be totally free. With Ned it's the absence of a father that haunts him, and with Rachael it's the struggle to overcome the emotional scars that go with being being molested and also the realization that she must stop running away and put the past behind her so that she can take responsibility for her daughter.
While I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, I understood and appreciated the gesture of Ned making a huge sacrifice in "saving" Rachael so that she could move on with her life because of his deep love for her.
Renner and Union both give powerhouse performances. All I can say is that they were so in-tuned with their characters and with each other that their acting seemed effortless. Renner is a force of nature! I look foreword to seeing more of him in the future. He tackled Ned with such heartbreaking vulnerability and pathos underneath an exterior of nerves and combustion that could only be soothed by the patience of Union's more tranquil take on Rachael, who's own demons simmer underneath to a slow boil.
This is a low budget movie where the actors, including Sally Kirkland and Cary Elwes, are center stage and it doesn't disappoint. So, If you ever find yourself at a loss for something to rent, then do yourself a favor and grab this movie. It's definitely worth it.
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