American History X Review

by Pierce Dalton (pierce80 AT aol DOT com)
February 25th, 1999
AMERICAN HISTORY X
Reviewed by Pierce Dalton
3 stars (out of 4)

American History X is one history lesson I enjoyed.

I have never been a big history fan. Yet X displays its history of skinheads in a powerful, haunting tale of hate vs. love.

Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) is sent to jail after he kills a black man in his neighborhood after Derek catches him trying to steal his car in southern California.

With a tatooed Swatstika on his left peck, Derek is the image of hate, specifically the hate of different races, color.

But, while in jail, he learns the error of his ways. Maybe this Derek isn't the bad-ass he pretends (he thinks) to be.

And, I'm sure it helps when Derek is raped in prison by a bunch of white inmates he befriended.

The title of the film is the title of a school assignment given to Derek's little brother, Danny (Edward Furlong). He must report why it is wrong to say Hitlar was, well, a good guy, so to speak.

The moral point of X is, or course, that being a racist is wrong. Yet, Norton's acting in this movie are very good, his best to date, I think. His Derek is an evil, scary man who's morals are a screwed up as Hitlar's.
He makes his psychotic character in Primal Fear (1996) look reasonible.
The rest of the cast, including Beverly D'Angelo and Fairuza Bulk, are, also, good.

But, X is Norton's movie.

1999 [email protected]

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