I find it interesting that so many people who are NOT from the heartland of America (and particularly so many not from America at all) have commented on the authenticity of the film. Having spent my childhood in the heartland (Iowa), I don't recall having encountered any racism (I suppose because there just weren't many black people around). Also, I never even heard the word "zionist" until I moved to the East Coast, and heard it used by a radical leftist group defending suicide bombers. This is not to say there's no truth to the film, as we are all aware of the existence of militia groups, but, as often happens when filmmakers are trying to make a point, and believe themselves to be smarter than they are, they end up making a hysterical point (see "The Day After Tomorrow"). What people are crediting as the depth of the characters is actually an exposure of the shallowness of the film; Why is Tom Berenger a nice, hard working patriotic veteran who also hates his country, hunts blacks for sport and robs banks? What got these farmers to this point? I don't ask because I care, but because without that explanation, their actions are random and their characters cartoons. I suppose if the filmmakers don't care, neither should the viewers, so judge the film within that context, but don't give it any more credit than it deserves. So what's the bottom line? Tom Berenger and John Heard are good, as usual, but Debra Winger's performance suggests that of a woman who is no mental condition to do undercover work, and unfortunately, I don't think that's what the filmmakers were aiming for. The film is well shot, but also slow, and, not to beat a dead horse, but without any explanation for the goings on, pointless. It also comes off as smug, thanks to being made by people who have no knowledge or understanding of the culture they're portraying, which makes their lack of desire to explain it a blessing.
