Imperium (2016)
Directed by Daniel Ragussis
Nate Foster, a young, idealistic FBI agent, goes undercover to take down a radical white supremacy terrorist group. The bright up-and-coming analyst must confront the challenge of sticking to a new identity while maintaining his real principles as he navigates the dangerous underworld of white supremacy. Inspired by real events.
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5 films that influenced Imperium
What critics say influenced Imperium
His slight build and humble manner reminds me of a young Pacino (think 1973’s “Serpico”).
But “Imperium” refuses to lean into that, it lacks the courage to make viewers feel that seduction for themselves and tap into the righteous indignation that makes films like “American History X” and “La Haine” feel so dangerous.
Which is not to say that Daniel Ragussis’ film—his first feature—is the modern-day cop-movie equivalent of American History X, by any means.
Unlike “The Believer,” “Romper Stomper,” or “American History X,” “Imperium” — directed and scripted by first-timer Daniel Ragussis — is not principally concerned with exploring the political or psychological dysfunction that drives young men to join violent hate-groups.
To this end, first time director Daniel Ragussis’ second feature doesn’t care much for standard espionage thrills, or an anti-hero’s larger than life narration as seen in another film covering white supremacy, American History X. Rather, Imperium dramatically explores the internal machinations of a pockmarked system built by several highly intelligent, yet deeply flawed characters.
However, if you enjoyed American History X or The Infiltrator , it?s…
Think American History X meets The Departed, featuring another impassioned performance from one of the greatest young actors of our time, Daniel Radcliffe.
Anyone who’s seen “The Departed” or “Donnie Brasco” can anticipate how things play out from there: Nate shaves his head, reinvents himself as an Iraq War vet, earns the respect of some hard-ass motherfuckers while racing to stay a step ahead of their suspicions, grows increasingly paranoid and begins to seem like he might be in a bit too deep.
Perhaps some of that expectation, however, may be from the instant-gratification standard set by popular undercover agent films over the last few decades, such as Donnie Brasco, or The Departed.
As is almost always the case with these undercover films, from “Donnie Brasco” to the recent “The Infiltrator,” our hero finds himself empathizing with the very figure he’s tasked with taking down — leading to the obligatory scene where the boss has to remind him of his mission.
Unlike “The Believer,” “Romper Stomper,” or “American History X,” “Imperium” — directed and scripted by first-timer Daniel Ragussis — is not principally concerned with exploring the political or psychological dysfunction that drives young men to join violent hate-groups.
The first thing you’ll probably think of when reading about this movie is Edward Norton in American History X or Ryan Gosling in The Believer, both great movies and fair benchmarks for any movie dealing with white supremacists.
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Imperium is not the first time this year we’ve seen the world of white supremacy from the inside: the first, of course, was Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, a stylish toe-dip into the punk scene of neo-Nazis that carefully kept the hate-filled rhetoric safely within the confines of the screen.