American History X

Happy New Year, everybody. I decided to start the year off right with one of the most depressing movies of the season. Not that that’s a bad thing in this case. This was a very, very good movie.

So Edward Norton got out of the Andy Kaufman movie to do this. I guess I’ll forgive him even though I think he would have been perfect for the role. I can definitely forgive him since his performance in this film is one of the best of the year. He was absolutely amazing! If he isn’t at least nominated for an Oscar I will give up on the Academy. Not that I hadn’t already, but this will put the nail in the coffin.

Ok, I guess I should explain the movie. Derek Vinyard (Norton) is a Neo-Nazi skinhead who is thrown in jail for killing two black guys who were boosting his truck. His brother, Danny (Edward Furlong in one of his least annoying roles), is headed down the same path. He turned in a paper about the positive aspects of Mein Kampf. This, of course, get him in trouble with his teacher (Elliott Gould) and his principal (Avery Brooks). Brooks tells him that, if he meets him everyday for a class he calls “American History X” and re-writes his paper, he will let him stay in school. The paper has to be about how his brother influenced his life and the community around him. The effects were not good.

Derek is let out of jail to a new way of life. He’s changed his ways. He sees the things that he started and wants to make it all right, much to the consternation of his girlfriend (the uber-freaky Fairuza Balk) and, most importantly, his mentor, Cameron Alexander (Stacy Keach). Cameron is the head of the entire Nazi movement in Venice Beach. This causes all kinds of problems for the whole Vinyard family (which includes Beverly D’Angelo as his mom and Jennifer Lien (Star Trek Voyager’s Kes) as his oldest sister).

There really isn’t very much surprising stuff that happens in this movie. In fact, I saw a lot of it coming. The real surprise was the frankness with which it was dealt with. The racism is so strong that it almost made me sick. There’s a rape scene in the prison that is so graphic that I’m surprised the movie held it’s R rating.

The thing that really makes the movie is the direction and Big Eddie’s performance. Tony Kaye holds the suspense throughout the film, especially in the final scenes. The only problem I have with this guy is his attitude. I didn’t read the entire Rolling Stone story about this movie, but he apparently is really mad at New Line. They supposedly cut the movie up to suit their needs. That’s not good and he has a right to be mad, but he went a little overboard. Humility is not his strong suit. He said that, if they had left it alone, it would have been the best movie ever made. He’s a self-proclaimed genius. He also said that Norton was the biggest prima-dona ever to come out of Hollywood and that he hoped he never worked again, no matter how good he is. What a bastard.

Anyway, Edward was amazing. If there was ever a man alive who could play Charlie Manson it’s Edward Norton. There were scenes (especially the opening murder scene) where his eyes delve into the souls of everyone in the theatre. His speeches in the black and white sequences (those are the ones in the past where he actually believes all the Nazi crap) are so riveting that you can start to see how someone would be seduced by the words. Then he gets turned around and you just start to think that he’s one of the nicest guys alive. To go from one of the most frightening characters in recent cinematic history to “such a nice guy” is amazing.

If you can stomach some graphic violence and racism, go see this movie. It’s a very important experience that everyone should see. It probably won’t be nominated for anything (except, hopefully, best actor), but that doesn’t make it any less good.