rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1998
Directed by Tony Kaye; produced by John Morrissey; written by David McKenna
Starring Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Avery Brooks, Fairuza Balk, Elliott Gould
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'American History X' is a powerful film that deals with racism, neo-Nazis
and things that have to do with these subjects in a good but hasty way.
Although most events are convincing sometimes it feels the film had to rush
to tell everything it wants to tell in the two hours it plays.
The film starts in black and white showing Derek (Edward Norton) kill two
black guys who try to steal his car. He looks like pure evil. From the
tattoos on his body we learn soon enough he is a neo-Nazi. After he kills
them he is arrested and sentenced for three years. We move to present day,
the movie is in color here, and we meet Danny (Edward Furlong), Derek's
brother, who has become what Derek once was. He just turned in a paper about
"Mein Kampf", something history teacher Dr. Sweeney (Avery Brooks) is not
very happy with. He gets a new assignment; a paper that has to tell about
his brother.
The present day is the day Derek has come out of jail and we see right away
he is changed, in appearance and in behavior. What changed him? We learn in
the black and white flashbacks. On the one hand it seems plausible that
prison changed Derek, but there are moments the film skips or rushes an
important part in his change. Not that it matters much, Norton is so
convincing in his part we believe him all the way through.
For the story I have left some important things and characters out, but the
less I tell you the more powerful the movie will be. There are scenes, one
where skin heads smash a grocery store to pieces, another where Derek kills
one of the black guys in a gruesome way, that are hard to watch. In those
scenes the film tries to give an honest look at things that are happening,
succeeds, but unfortunately it is not the entire film that feels this way.
The film tells a lot in two hours. All that is good because it teaches us,
but bad because the film loses some of its power. Still, the film is very
powerful and Norton's performance is one you will remember for a long time.
His eyes especially.