_American_History_X_ (R) *** (out of ****)
"A Tony Kaye film." "Directed by Tony Kaye." Whether he likes it or not, after a still-developing war of words (and very expensive trade ads) with the higher-ups at New Line Cinema and the Directors Guild, the embattled first-time feature director has his name on the credits of the release cut of _American_History_X_. Much has been made of the issues of artistic integrity and free speech, but precious little has been made of the film itself--except that, according to Kaye, it no longer reflects his original vision. I do not know what exactly Kaye had in mind for his _X_, but the film I saw, flawed though it may be, definitely works on its own merits.
The main reason for the film's effectiveness the impassioned work of Edward Norton. He stars as Derek Vinyard, a young man who turns to a racist gang after his firefighter father is murdered. Head shaven and with a swastika tattooed to his chest, Derek is hate incarnate, and his rage leads to the brutal murder of two black men and a prison sentence. After three years, Derek emerges from prison a changed man, determined to let go of a violent life that, of course, won't so easily let go of him. It's a formulaic character progression, but Norton's intensity makes it fresh and involving. His depth and nuance convincingly meshes his character's two sides: utterly despicable and chilling as the skinhead Derek and sympathetic but--crucially--no less edgy, as the post-prison Derek.
The character of Derek and his personal journey are riveting, but less so are writer David McKenna's additional narrative touches--namely the focal relationship between younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong), who idolizes his brother and appears headed down the same destructive path of hate. Derek's attempts to steer Danny in the right direction is the central dramatic issue, but there's no real tension. Danny is less a character than a plot device, with no clearly defined personality trait other than his emulation of his brother, thus there's very little suspense as to whether or not Danny will change.
While Kaye has disassociated himself from all aspects of the film, one other thing his name is attached to aside from the direction is the cinematography, and he does a stunning job. The story mostly unfolds in flashback, with Derek's despicable actions and brutal prison experience shown in black-and-white--no doubt a visual extension of the race theme. But the absence of full color also lends the more violent scenes an added roughness, and, in turn, a heightened sense of reality.
_American_History_X_ ends on a fairly predictable note, but the resolution effectively reinforces the film's strong anti-hate, anti-violence message. Perhaps in Kaye's editing hands the film would have been more well-rounded, less formulaic, and, as such, more powerful and profound. Alas, as it currently stands, the incendiary _X_, for all its faults, still makes a lasting, thought-provoking impression. (opens October 30)
Michael Dequina
mrbrown@iname.com | michael_jordan@geocities.com
Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown
CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews