American History X (1998) March 9, 2007
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Tony Kaye
One of the most powerful movies of the 90’s, this violent drama tells the story of white supremacists in Venice Beach. On release from prison, Derek Vinyard has put his neo-nazi skinhead days behind him. But while he has been away his younger brother Danny has only fallen deeper into the gang, idolizing Derek’s ringleader days and hoping to impress him. Derek must make Danny understand the respect he has learned, before his brother becomes consumed by the hatred that ruined his life.
I had heard a lot about this film before I watched it for the first time about five years ago. It didn’t seem like my kind of thing, so naturally I was expecting a disappointment, as is so often the case when a movie gets built up in advance of the first viewing. I don’t think I’ve ever been so wrong - it blew me away, and continues to do so on repeated occasions.
It’s a deeply sad movie in many ways and, despite the lessons it tries to teach, the film doesn’t shy away from the reality that hatred continues even as a person’s circumstances change. Edward Norton gives a stunning performance as the reformed ‘leader of the pack’, playing both sides of his character with great skill. Edward Furlong is also fantastic as the brother who tries to follow in Derek’s footsteps. Even the supporting cast including Beverly D’Angelo, Avery Brooks, Ethan Suplee and Elliott Gould, simply serve to continue the high standard of acting on display.
The film is shot in an interesting style with the simple but effective use of black and white to separate events in the past from those in the present. It’s also undeniably brutal at times, but that’s part of the power of the film – to mix unashamed violence and racism with a story about family and tolerance. Even though it deserves its 18 certificate (a US ‘R’ rating), there are messages throughout that are applicable to all ages.
For what is a very simple story, the filmmakers have opted to utilise a slightly strange narrative structure, moving from the use of elongated flashbacks, to setting a large section of the film in the past. Written with equal flair and compassion, the dialogue is as strong as the rest of the picture, and the script is well structured to avoid confusion during the numerous flashbacks. The real greatness however, comes from the fact that the story never stops throwing curve balls, right up until the finale.
There aren’t many other ways to say it; American History X is a wonderful film. Expertly written, beautifully shot, and with perfect performances that bring the whole thing to life. I don’t throw the word masterpiece around lightly, but this film just can’t avoid that kind of reaction. It’s strange because the final product is much less life affirming or uplifting than the ‘error of your ways’ storyline would first suggest - but that’s not to say that there aren’t important lessons to be learned here. And while it can be a hard movie to watch, it’s even harder to forget.
Comments»
I agree wholeheartedly - given the film’s troubled conception and Tony Kaye’s disowning of it, American History X is remarkably still a resounding success. I defy anyone to watch the curb scene without at least wincing.
A great film for the first hour, but you can tell that Norton’s conflict with Kaye leads to decline in the latter half of the film. Kaye uses fact to establish Norton’s racist stance including real statistical facts and crime rates. Then the reform nonsense kicks in justified on purely fictional and lazy written in circumstances. It’s as though the lefties in Hollywood saw how credible Norton’s racist portrayal was and subsequently demanded the film be sabotaged with derivative Hollywood clichés.
Interesting points, although as I understand it Edward Norton was involved in the re-edit that so infuriated Tony Kaye. I wonder if he still would like his name disassociated with the film, given the huge success it has been?
The worst part of the whole fiasco is that we’ll probably never see the special edition DVD this film deserves so much - a damn shame since I’d love to own a decent documentary on the movie and a director or cast commentary track.