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American History X
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
Edward Norton, Edward Furlong,
Fairuza Balk, Stacy Keach, Elliott Gould, Avery Brooks,
Beverly D'Angelo |
| MPAA Rated: |
R |
| Released By: |
New Line
Cinema |
| Web Site: |
www.historyx.com |
| Kiddie Movie: |
No way in hell, but older teens
might learn something. |
| Date Movie: |
Bring 'em along. |
| Gratuitous Sex: |
Sex, and rape. |
| Gratuitous
Violence: |
It's about racial
hatred, what do you think? |
| Action: |
More violence than
anything action. |
| Laughs: |
A couple of lines. |
| Memorable
Scene: |
Most of the movie,
but a couple of scenes that stand out are when Derek kills the
one black guy - it's one of those scenes where you know what
is going to happen, kinda hope they don't show it, then cringe
as they do, the scene in the prison shower (what do think
happens), and the ending scenes in the high school bathroom. |
| Memorable
Quote: |
Most of the movie. |
| Directed By: |
Tony Kaye |
| Produced By: |
John Morrissey |
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American History X
A Movie Review |
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I left "American History X" just
thinking one thing - "Whoa." Sometimes a movie does that to
you.
"American History X" is a story about a lot of things.
It's a story about racism. It's a story about family. It's a
story about crime. It's about a scary side of life today
hitting on questions of which there really aren't easy
answers, and whichever side of the line you tend to fall on,
there is someone just as defiant on the other side.
Edward Norton plays Derek, a skinhead, Nazi type who
develops a hatred for blacks, Hispanics, and well, you get
the idea. His brother, Danny, as well as the Nazi community
he has helped develop, admire him. He is a person of action,
he is a person of rhetoric, and he has that look of a
leader. The movement is growing, mostly because of the
foundation that Derek helped lay, but Derek has another
problem, he ends up in jail for murder. This further makes
him a hero, but what the skinheads don't know, and
especially his brother, is what happened to Derek in jail.
Danny is headed down the same path as Derek, but hasn't
learned some crucial lessons, and when Derek gets free from
the pokey, he wants his brother out of the skinheads, he
wants his family to be a family again, and he wants his life
to be his own.
That's the easy way to tell the story, I guess, because
this movie works hard in its two hour time to develop how
racial hatred is born, how it grows, and how it can be
realized that sometimes those you hate are the ones you need
the most, while the ones who you supposedly understand and
trust will stab you in the back. Derek learns all of these
lessons, while Danny learns, just a little to late.
I won't go into this movie anymore, just say it's one
hell of an emotional movie. The brutality of prison life
comes through, the brutality of hatred comes through, and
Edward Norton gives one hell of a performance.
With that said, and probably not much of it making sense,
because I think to do so this review would turn into a book
report, I just have to say I recommend the film. 4 ½
Stars out of 5.
That's it for this one, I'm The Dude on the Right!!
L8R!!
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