325:" when he wears them. As he continues to wear the eyeglasses, he himself becomes the target of antisemitic sentiment. His boss demotes him with no explanation, and Lawrence resigns in protest. He has no luck in finding a new job until he runs into Gertrude, who has found secretarial work in a Jewish-owned business. After he apologizes to her for his behavior, she helps him find work at the company. The two befriend each other and eventually marry.
547:. Its view of 1940s America is pointedly opposite from today's prevailing gung-ho nostalgia about World War II. It pointedly reminds us that prejudice and xenophobia are the flip sides of unity and togetherness." Though Holden noted the film's themes are "as subtle as a brickbat" and were handled with more "subtlety and passion" in Arthur Miller's
504:, a friend of Slavin's who was a candidate for mayor of New York City at the time. Slavin said, "Michael read it in one day, called me and said, 'Let's do it.' This movie happened because of him. And it wasn't like he just put the money down and walked away. He was involved in the inspiration every step of the way."
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group called the Union
Crusaders, who blame Jews for the war. Neighborhood tensions have also intensified with the arrival of a Jewish storekeeper named Finkelstein. One day, a gentile woman named Gertrude Hart shows up at Lawrence’s workplace to apply for a job, but Lawrence brushes her off on his
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As a couple, Gertrude and
Lawrence become subject to multiple social humiliations, including a rejection from a resort where they had made reservations for a weekend trip. The attitude of their neighbors towards them also becomes frostier. Gertrude, who knows more than her husband about the Union
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said the film was miscast and wrote, "The movie...has a topsy-turvy sense of injustice. Its central outrage isn’t anti-Semitism, really, but the far more banal fact that Macy and Dern have to endure the inconvenience of being scorned for what they’re not." In her review for
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since he was a student at art school in the 1960s. In the 1990s, Slavin struck a deal with Miller that if a good screenplay could be written, the playwright would grant him permission to adapt the novel. Slavin commissioned playwright
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Criticisms were directed towards the film's "didacticism", the story's implausibilities and its "heavy-handed" messaging, in addition to the casting of Macy and Dern as characters who appear to be Jewish.
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to write the script, and after some revisions and suggestions by Miller, the adaptation was approved. One of the changes which Slavin made was his decision to root the film "on the outer edges of
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Crusaders, urges him to attend a rally for his own protection. Soon, Lawrence finds himself in a situation where he must contend with his as well as his neighborhood’s prejudice.
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because it "doesn't reach for reality; it's a deliberate attempt to look and feel like a 1940s social problems picture, right down to the texture of the color photography."
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about how "people’s perceptions and...intolerance blinds to seeing the person." Macy hesitated to play the role, saying that he "had a nagging fear that having an
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might offend someone, thinking we were trivializing the subject." Macy decided to play the role after he consulted his mentor and collaborator
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For the part of
Lawrence, Slavin specifically sought out William H. Macy, basing his choice on the belief that the story is a
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somehow feels dated, and pounds away its points with a heavy hand." On
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gave it three out of four stars and wrote the film is an effective
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man who works as a personnel manager and lives with his mother in
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of 1940s
Brooklyn. Said Slavin, "One of my goals was to build a '
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Best Sound
Editing - Music - Feature Film, Domestic and Foreign
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suspicion that she’s Jewish and his fear of being fired.
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Robert McCarrol as
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821:"William H. Macy interview for "Focus" (2001)"
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946:Baumgarten, Marjorie (December 7, 2001).
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16:2001 American drama film by Neal Slavin
428:had wanted to direct an adaptation of
414:Conrad Bergschneider as Tough's Leader
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1052:Hobbs, John (February 11, 2002).
694:Antisemitism in the United States
635:Ghent International Film Festival
791:Grode, Eric (October 28, 2001).
1216:Films based on American novels
559:September 11 terrorist attacks
477:, where its producers built a
402:Shaun Austin-Olsen as Sullivan
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625:New Directors Competition -
491:, who had worked on the film
384:Arlene Meadows as Mrs. Dewitt
1251:English-language drama films
1206:2000s English-language films
1196:2001 directorial debut films
285:. The film premiered at the
652:- Joanie Diener (nominated)
360:as Fred (as Meat Loaf Aday)
178:September 9, 2001
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369:Michael Copeman as Carlson
342:as Lawrence "Larry" Newman
197:October 19, 2001
675:- Neal Slavin (nominated)
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1211:Films about antisemitism
611:a movie worth viewing."
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301:In the waning months of
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348:as Gertrude "Gert" Hart
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1181:2001 independent films
1236:Films shot in Toronto
1221:Films set in Brooklyn
563:anti-Muslim sentiment
293:on October 19, 2001.
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1191:American drama films
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896:(October 19, 2001).
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205: (United States)
79:Michael R. Bloomberg
1079:"37th KVIFF Awards"
411:B.J. McQueen as Mel
408:as Mr. Cole Stevens
257:is a 2001 American
903:The New York Times
645:Golden Reel Awards
538:The New York Times
375:as Father Crighton
354:as Mr. Finkelstein
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827:. October 9, 2001
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544:The Twilight Zone
513:Critical response
502:Michael Bloomberg
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1108:Film Threat
1037:December 3,
1007:November 5,
957:November 5,
831:November 5,
825:SPLICEDwire
802:November 5,
765:November 5,
629:(nominated)
627:Neal Slavin
567:Roger Ebert
489:Tariq Anwar
468:David Mamet
426:Neal Slavin
364:Kay Hawtrey
323:look Jewish
315:antisemitic
277:based on a
218:106 minutes
130:Tariq Anwar
73:Produced by
40:Neal Slavin
36:Directed by
1176:2001 films
1170:Categories
872:Metacritic
705:References
673:Grand Prix
663:Best Actor
581:xenophobia
553:, he said
527:Metacritic
479:simulacrum
445:surrealism
420:Production
394:Wendy Lyon
346:Laura Dern
279:1945 novel
267:Laura Dern
259:drama film
243:Box office
201:2001-10-19
182:2001-09-09
147:Production
141:Mark Adler
97:Laura Dern
615:Accolades
508:Reception
449:film noir
432:'s novel
358:Meat Loaf
275:Meat Loaf
261:starring
246:$ 645,418
126:Edited by
107:Meat Loaf
1150:AllMovie
797:Playbill
759:AllMovie
688:See also
396:as Elsie
311:Brooklyn
233:Language
138:Music by
85:Starring
56:Based on
1058:Variety
998:"Focus"
979:Variety
974:"Focus"
948:"Focus"
867:"Focus"
577:parable
569:of the
475:Toronto
307:gentile
237:English
223:Country
199: (
180: (
149:company
1002:EW.com
579:about
186: (
1156:Focus
1145:Focus
1134:Focus
683:(won)
669:(won)
609:Focus
555:Focus
523:Focus
456:fable
435:Focus
254:Focus
61:Focus
22:Focus
1139:IMDb
1116:2022
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1039:2022
1031:MUBI
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733:IMDb
561:and
447:and
333:Cast
297:Plot
273:and
188:TIFF
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