Norton excellent; movie so-so

Rating: Null/10 (8 April 1999)

A film is didactic when it contains scenes which have no other purpose, or no place in reality, other than to convey a public service message ("Racism is bad"). "American History X" contains more than one scene like that. Also, the movie is very predictable. If you are paying attention, you will be telegraphed the movie's climax a half hour out. It was as if the director, Tony Kaye, had no way to tie the film up in an orderly fashion (I can sympathize: I wouldn't know either, given that story), and decided, "Okay, we'll do Greek tragedy."
Apart from these flaws, the film comes through, due to a strong performance by Edward Norton in the lead. His Academy Award nomination was much-deserved, and I'm certain he has the potential to give us many years of powerful, memorable performances. Also, the black and white photography (also by the director) was a real treat, given how rarely we see it these days.