Drama,Thriller
France,United States of America
Todd Bowden is a bright and ambitious high school student who becomes fixated on learning about the atrocities of the Holocaust. He begins reading books on the subject and becomes particularly interested in the actions of Nazi war criminals. One day, he notices that the old man living on his block, Arthur Denker, closely resembles one of the infamous Nazis he has read about.
Todd begins to stalk Denker and eventually approaches him, revealing that he knows his true identity. He proposes a deal: Todd will not turn Denker in to the authorities if Denker tells him detailed stories about his time in the concentration camps during World War II. The two begin an uneasy alliance, with Todd becoming increasingly obsessed while Denker becomes more paranoid and vicious.
As Todd's grades and mental health begin to suffer, he becomes more and more involved with Denker's dark past. He begins to see himself as a willing accomplice, straddling the line between fascinated and horrified. Meanwhile, Denker begins to feel the pressure of Todd's constant demands and paranoia, and begins to lash out violently.
As the tension between the two reaches a breaking point, Todd's family becomes embroiled in the situation and he is forced to make a choice between exposing Denker and losing everything he's learned, or staying quiet and helping to protect a war criminal. The final act of the film is a tense and suspenseful culmination of these conflicting desires, culminating in an explosive confrontation that ends in tragedy.
