The Dafoe character approaches a black man in a segregated luncheonette and asks him questions. The black refuses to talk to him—and still gets beaten by the Klan. Sometimes keeping your mouth shut can be sound common sense. Parker has dealt with intimidating bullies before in his work, most notably in Midnight Express, but what makes this film so particular is the way he understates the evil in it. There are no great villains and sadistic torturers in this film, only banal little racists with a vicious streak.
