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All Movie Info
Starring:
Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Fairuza Balk, Beverly D'Angelo, Avery Brooks, Stacy Keach, Jennifer Lien, Elliott Gould, William Russ, Joe Cortese, Ethan Suplee, Guy Torry, Giuseppe Andrews, Jordan Marder, Anne Lambton, Paul LeMat
Directed By:
Tony Kaye, Tony Kaye
Written By:
David McKenna
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American History X (1998)
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Movie Review by Jarrod 
July 7th, 2007
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'American History X' is raw and explosive, soaked with brutal violence and constant profanity, racial slurs, graphic sex and nudity, in essence, everything that constitutes an R rating. It is the story of two brothers, both skinheads, in Los Angeles, one recently out of jail, totally reformed, the other still clinging to the demagoguery of Cameron (Stacy Keach), the local neo-Nazi leader, who styles himself after Hitler, corrupting the minds of angry young men, and getting them to commit crimes in his name, and taking the fall, as he never wants to stain his own hands with the blood of others. Edward Norton is Derek Vinyard, an incredibly intelligent lad who blames the death of his father on non-whites, and sees the changing racial climate of his neighborhood as something destructive that should be prevented, or if that isn't possible, reversed.
He leads an attack on a grocery store owned by a Korean. He lashes out at his mother's Jewish boyfriend, a teacher at his former high school, during a discussion of the Rodney King incident and the riots it sparked. He is a dynamic and persuasive speaker, and the film's right-wing politics are espoused with great energy and eloquence by Derek, who struts around with a large swastika on his chest. After he kills a black man trying to steal his car, he goes to prison, and it changes him, because of a savage shower rape on the one hand, and the friendship with a black guy in the laundry room on the other.
Meanwhile, his kid brother Danny (Furlong) still hangs out with Derek's old friends, including the repulsive Seth (Ethan Suplee), a real loser consumed by his own misguided perceptions of the world, unable to think for himself and echoing Cameron's racist rhetoric at every turn. Danny has been given a special assignment by a savvy black teacher named Sweeney (Avery Brooks), to make up for the book report he wrote on Mein Kampf. He has to write about Derek, whom he idolizes. It is Sweeney who helps Derek transform himself into a better person.
Derek tries to get Danny out of the movement, breaks up with his old girlfriend (Fairuza Bulk), and tends to his mother (D'Angelo). Norton gives the best performance of his career. Derek is immensely complex, smart enough to realize the error of his ways, but able to present, in very passionate and convincing terms, how society is subverted by racial problems, and the presence of African-Americans, Asians, and other such groups. Then he becomes an equally powerful advocate for the opposite view, which makes him an outcast among his fellow white supremacists. Furlong is also very good, a conflicted character who admires his brother, but has trouble reconciling that admiration with his own feelings toward Cameron, or the ideas that he has had pounded into his head.
We know Danny has been reared in racism by Derek, but where did Derek's racism come from? A scene with his father at the dinner table offers the only real clue, but I do not feel it is sufficient. Keach provides an easily detestable parasite. Brooks embodies the film's moral center, an effective figure of authority who is committed to steering both bright boys towards tolerance and respect. The stark look of the movie is brilliant, capturing past events in black-and-white and the present ones in color. The candid dialogue spares nothing, with offensive and rough language that lends a sense of authenticity. This is certainly how such people would talk. A riveting film, to say the least.
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