'American History X' (1998)
A movie review by Walter Frith
Member of the 'Online Film Critics Society' http://ofcs.org/ofcs/
Edward Norton is quickly establishing himself as a solid player among his Hollywood peers. In three short years in Hollywood, he has played many different characters: a vicious killer, a pornographer's attorney and a gambling loser. Not to mention an appearance in a musical. How's that for diversity? One guy, yes only one, wrote me a short time ago and said that my movie reviews are too short. In the age of the Internet where we are literally drowning in information, I told him that my reviews aren't too short, they're just right, considering the fact that I want to give people a chance to read other critic's reviews so why should I ramble on and on and on. Those roles I mentioned in which Edward Norton appeared ----- research them for yourself to give yourself some extra time if you feel my reviews are too short. That'll keep you busy for a while but if you have to look up the roles, you aren't much of a movie fan.
The hypocrisy of hate, based on race and executing that hate through criminal actions is examined expertly in 'American History X'. Edward Norton plays a neo-Nazi skinhead who reforms his ways somewhat, after being released from prison, and butts heads with his former white power superior (Stacy Keach). But Norton's biggest problem is that his younger brother (Edward Furlong), is on the same path and will probably end up like his brother if he continues on his current course of action.
This film has more grit and raw violence to make its point in a totally necessary fashion than almost any other film in 1998. The most engaging thing about some of the scenes is the fact that director Tony Kaye uses black and white and slow motion during some of the film's most shocking moments. More importantly, the film doesn't take one course of action, possibly taking a turn to drag and lose some of its power. The film jumps back and fourth from the present to the past constantly throughout its entire running time..
One night Norton executes two black men for attempting to steal his truck from his driveway and goes to prison for it. In prison and given laundry detail, he is forced to work with a black prisoner and becomes drawn to him to the point of near friendship and realizes that there is good and bad in everyone. A lesson he learned the hard way since his father was killed by black drug dealers as a fireman and Norton had it in for all black people based on that one incident. A black man and Norton's former and his brother's present history teacher (Avery Brooks) is the foundation building the right path in this movie and re-names Furlong's class american history x. It's a re-working of his current class which will be a one on one session each day at school as a reprimand after Furlong hands in a project arguing hate is the right way and white way for his race to behave in protecting their civil rights and Furlong even argues in favour of Hitler.
Edward Norton deserves an Oscar nomination for this film and the social commentary put forward by writer David McKenna is a constant reminder of how history is carried on in the present day in American society where words and beliefs are sometimes more harsh than violence.
Whatever your beliefs are, 'American History X' strives to be a visually stunning and hard core examination of race relations in America where just looking the wrong way in other people's eyes can get you killed and where your right to believe in your own convictions can be as destructive or rewarding as you allow it to be. One of 1998's ten best films
OUT OF 5 > * * * * *
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