American History X (1998)
Director: Tony Kaye Cast: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Fairuza Balk, Beverly D'Angelo, Avery Brooks, Stacy Heach, Jennifer Lien, Elliott Gould Screenplay: David McKenna Producers: John Morrissey Runtime: 117 min. US Distribution: New Line Cinema Rated R: Graphic brutal violence, sexuality, nudty, language
By Nathaniel R. Atcheson
Apparently, director Tony Kaye had a major battle with New Line regarding his new film, American History X. I don't know the details of the fight, but it seems that he is not happy with the final product, and nearly removed his name from the credits altogether. I've heard about this kind of thing happening before, and it makes me wonder how much input a studio has over the films they produce. As it is, I found American History X to be an extremely good film, not just because of Tony Kaye's focused look at the touchy subject of racism, but because of a powerful, charismatic performance from Edward Norton.
It's hard to believe that it has only been two years since Norton's fantastic role in Primal Fear, but, here he is now, starring in his own film and making himself a star. Norton is one of those performers who becomes his character, and his work in American History X is one of the very best performances this year. He plays a young man named Derek Vinyard, a skinhead living in Venice Beach with his brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), mother (Beverly D'Angelo), and sister, Davin (Jennifer Lien). The film opens with a flashback, in which Derek brutally kills two black men vandalizing his car. We find out that this lands him in prison, and the film from that point is seen through the eyes of Danny.
In the present-time of the film, Danny is in high school, and eager to follow the footsteps of his brother. Much of the film is told in flashback, and we see the path that leads to Derek's adoption of white supremacy. When Derek is released, having served three years in prison, he finds that his brother is now a full-blown skinhead; Derek, however, has given up the violence, and tries to get his brother to understand why racism and the violence that comes with it are bad things. What makes this all interesting is that these two young men are not stupid, thoughtless people -- they are intelligent and articulate, and voice their beliefs in disturbingly straightforward terms.
It's hard to make a Controversial movie and not preach, but Kaye has found the right note for his material. Because American History X is a mainstream film, there has to be a redemption phase for our main character -- some people may think that this is the only way to make him sympathetic. I partially disagree with this, because, although I do not advocate racism in any way, it's interesting the way Kaye presents Derek -- he is a loud, obnoxious man, but he's also very smart. The reasons for why he becomes a skinhead are believable -- his father was arbitrarily killed by a group of black men. It's clear that he's passionate about his beliefs, and that he's not just a punk looking for an excuse to beat people up.
Of course, it helps that Kaye has an actor as talented as Norton to play this part. It's astonishing how frightening Norton looks with a shaved head and a swastika on his chest. In addition to getting the look just right, he's perfect for this role -- Derek requires intelligence, depth, and a whole lot of shouting, and Norton does it all with ease. Even when he's at his meanest, Derek has a likable quality to him, and that's a gutsy approach when telling a story about a skinhead. What adds depth to the story is a subplot in which the principal of Danny's school (Avery Brooks) becomes obsessed with purging the hatred from Danny. The other performances are all terrific, with standouts from Furlong, D'Angelo, and Lien. Visually, the film is very powerful. Kaye indulges in a lot of interesting artistic choices, and most of them work nicely -- lots of slow-motion and strange camera angles add to a moody atmosphere.
But, like a lot of movies lately, American History X skims past greatness in the last few minutes. Although the climactic scene is very moving, the picture ends with a pretentious, preachy resolution featuring a brief narration from a character who was killed. For a movie so smart a subtle up until that point, it felt like a slap in the face to be hand-fed a theme in such a simplistic way. It makes me wonder what, exactly, Tony Kaye disliked about the final version of his film. Perhaps this last scene was the problem. It's hard to imagine any director not being at least partially pleased with a film this good -- in a time when so many movies are timid and weak, American History X manages to make a compelling argument for racism without advocating it any way.
Psychosis Rating: 8/10
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Nathaniel R. Atcheson
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