Bloated and violent commentary on racism is showcase for Edward Norton.

Rating: Null/10 (12 May 1999)

Movies given to excesses of almost any kind can be forgiven, provided they adopt an ideological position - even an unpopular one. Unfortunately, movies can also simply be given to excess. That is more or less the case with American History X, a bloated, gratuitously violent film about home-grown racial bigotry.
Derrick Vineyard (Edward Norton) starts out as a shy, bookish boy whose father peppers his dinner-time conversation with mild racial epithets. Dad's ignorant extemporizations, along with the circumstances of his death, are supposed to help explain Vineyard's transformation from a Wally Cleaver-like character to Ward and June's worst nightmare - the leader and eloquent spokesman of a group of Venice Beach skinheads. But what about the Beaver?
Derrick's younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong) plays the innocent foil, a vulnerable, ideologically labile teenager whose idolatrous admiration for his older sibling is painful to watch. After Derrick commits an especially heinous crime and is sent to the gray-bar hotel for 3 years, Danny is left on his own. Predictably, he becomes a skinhead himself and falls under noxious influences - Cameron (Stacy Keach at his unctuous best) - while older brother Derrick becomes the bride of at least 1 inmate (watch for a particularly harrowing "bridal shower scene."). Danny's champion during this sojourn is the school principal (Avery Brooks), who still believes the kid is salvageable.
This is non-linear, trendy filmmaking at its best, rendered with flashbacks, black and white sequences and slow-motion cinematography. Interestingly, the real-time action takes place over roughly a 24-hour period, during which time a born-again Derrick (released from prison and transformed back into a good guy) must deprogram younger brother Danny before its too late. Meanwhile, Danny has to complete an essay assignment given to him by the principle, which the latter hopes will provide an epiphany for the boy and make him see that racism is a bad thing. Duh.
Interspersed with all of this are many admittedly powerful, gut-wrenching scenes, highlighted by Norton's inspired performance, Furlong's believable naivetÃ© and Keach's subliminally homoerotic portrayal of an aging neo-Nazi messiah. Elliot Gould also appears in flashback and does a nice turn as a prissy ideologue who further fuels Derrick's hatred (though hardly accounts for it).
You'll also arrive at the ending before the film does -- because it is essentially given away at the beginning -- but you won't be bored. Nor, for that matter, will you be very inspired. You will simply remember some of the scenes. Perhaps we all should.