Rating: * * *½ out of * * * *
Starring: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Fairuza Balk. Rated R for graphic violence and language, strong sexuality and nudity.
"American History X" is one of the most powerful, most involving movies I have seen in a while. The whole movie is simply amazing, shooting off the center minor times but quickly picking up where it left off. I think Edward Norton's performance in this movie is one of the best performances in a movie to me on record. He gets into his character so deep, he believes what the character is doing. After a while we start to believe him, it's absolutely incredible. The supporting cast more than supports Edward, they almost do just as great of job as he does. The rest of the cast includes Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo and Fairuza Balk.
The movie starts out with some guys trying to break into Derek's (Edward Nortan) car. His younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong) walks in during him and his girlfriend having sex to tell him someone is robbing his car. Derek gets up quickly, grabs his gun and shoots the three guys outside. The police come and Derek is put in jail for three years. Derek is also a neo-natzi skinhead. Before all this happened he had a group of other skinheads, meetings and robberies.
Danny having seen what happened, wants to follow in his brother's footsteps and he too becomes a skinhead. His grades in school start to drop, he hangs out with the wrong crowd and does other misc. stuff. Three years later Derek gets out of prison. A changed man no longer a skinhead, but a person who respects other people. Danny learns that when Derek was in prison, he was partnered with a black man to do jobs and found out, there is no reason to hate these people.
Now years before Danny and Derek's father was killed by a drug dealer while fighting a fire. Since then Derek has been a skinhead. His mother played superbly by Beverly D'Angelo can not understand where she went wrong. Her other three kids are not like that. Derek a changed man, no longer a nazi has to fight his past when he returns, and fight the people from his past to change his brother into a regular person.
'American History X' is definately one of 1998's best films. It has superb acting to go along with it's excellent storyling. It's extremely believeable in all senses, very very powerful and emotionally involving. We actually live the lives the characters live. We are there right beside them the whole time through the rough times and the good times. When the ending comes we are shattered but left with a good message.
Now the whole movie is nothing but a message. It deals with race and how we shouldn't base someone precisely on the color of their skin, but what they are inside. Edward Furlong gives a performance that is not only great, but his character is really the star of the film. It's the story through his eyes, what he sees, and what he doesn't see. If you want to see a movie that will disturb you while making you cry, see 'American History X' it's one of the best films made.
Reviewed by Brandon Herring August 29, 1999. Brandon Herring Movie Review Heaven (http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/movie/3160/moviereviewheaven.html
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