''Neo Ned'' is a 2005 film starring Jeremy Renner,

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...

Sally Kirkland Sally Kirkland (born October 31, 1941) is an American film, television and stage actress and producer. A former member of Andy Warhol's The Factory and an active member in 1960s New York avant-garde theater, she has appeared in more than 250 fi ...

Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...

, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and

Ethan Suplee Ethan Suplee (; born May 25, 1976) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' American History X'', '' Remember the Titans'', ''John Q'', '' The Wolf of Wall Street'', ''Without a Paddle'', and sever ...

. It was written by Tim Boughn and directed by Van Fischer.

Synopsis

The film stars Jeremy Renner as Ned Nelson, a

Skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

who ends up in a mental institution where he meets Rachael (

), a black woman claiming to be the

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. The unlikely couple's hookup leads them down a shocking road to recovery.

Cast

* Jeremy Renner as Ned *

as Rachael *

as Shelly Nelson *

as Dr. Magnuson * Eddie Kaye Thomas as Joey *

as Orderly Johnny *

Giuseppe Andrews Joey Murcia Jr. (born April 25, 1979), known professionally as Giuseppe Andrews is an American former actor, screenwriter, director, and singer-songwriter known for his roles as Lex in the 1999 film ''Detroit Rock City'', a bizarre sheriff's d ...

as Josh * Steve Railsback as Mr Day *

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. He portrayed Walt Finnerty on ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005) and The Warden on ''The Young and the Restless'' (2007). He also appeared in over 200 films, including '' Glory' ...

as Officer Roy Pendleton *

Michael Shamus Wiles Michael Shamus Wiles (born October 27, 1955) is an American character actor of film and television onscreen since the 1980s who has appeared in over 100 films and television shows. Career He portrayed Marc Mitscher in ''Pearl Harbor'' and Mr. Pa ...

as Ned's Dad * Anthony Morgann as Social Worker

Reception

Mark Olsen gave the film 3.5 out of five in his ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' review, where he wrote, "It's a little rough around the edges, to be sure, but with such strong lead performances there is something irresistible in the film's audaciously straight-faced portrayal of such an unlikely relationship." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reviewer John Anderson also reviewed the film favorably, writing, "Neo Ned may be ludicrous on paper, but it has what fans of independent film are looking for -- atmosphere, humanity and just a dash of fantastic drama." '' Film Threat'' writer Mark Bell gave the film 4.5 out of 5, writing, "Never boring, never pretentious, never preachy, Neo Ned could find its place alongside some of the great independent romance films of all time, if enough people are able to catch a glimpse of it." The film's treatment of its subject matter and tone was criticized, with Jasmyne Keimig writing that "The disgust over Neo Ned is rightfully deserved. The movie carelessly throws around the n-word and other acts of violence for humor" and '' L.A. Weekly'' writer Matthew Duersten stating, "The problem lies in the film's inability to decide whether such loaded images are funny in a

Farrelly Brothers Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, collectively referred to as the Farrelly brothers, are American screenwriters and directors. They have made eleven films together, including ''Dumb and Dumber'', '' Outside Providence'', and '' There's Somethin ...

/ Dave Chapelle kind of way or if they mean something deeper." Gabrielle Union expressed dissatisfaction with her performance in this film over

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Awards

To date, the film has won 10 film awards, out of 10 total nominations.

2005

;Slamdance Film Festival *Best Narrative Feature

2006

;Ashland Independent Film Festival *Best Feature Film ;Newport Beach Film Festival *Outstanding Achievement in Directing, Van Fischer ;Palm Beach International Film Festival *Best Actor, Jeremy Renner *Best Actress, Gabrielle Union *Best Director, Van Fischer *Best Feature ;

San Diego Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...

* Best Screenplay - Tim Boughn * Audience Award - Best Narrative Feature ;Sarasota Film Festival *Best Narrative Feature

Film release

After three years of festival screenings (from 2005's

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

premiere to 2008's Suppository Films Reelblack Festival), the film premiered on Starz on August 19, 2008. It was picked up for distribution by

CodeBlack Entertainment Codeblack Films is an American entertainment company. Codeblack focuses on films targeting African-American audiences. History Codeblack Enterprises was founded by Jeff Clanagan in 2005, who became CEO of the company. Originally focused on dire ...

, which released the film on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on December 2, 2008.

References

External links

Film trailer
*{{IMDb title, 0364556, Neo Ned American independent films Films about race and ethnicity 2005 films Films about racism Films about interracial romance 2000s English-language films Skinhead films 2000s gang films 2005 independent films 2000s American films