Powerful Stuff

Rating: 9/10 (30 May 1999)

American History X follows the first 24-hours of freedom of a reformed neo-Nazi skinhead (Norton) in Los Angeles after serving 3-years for a brutal crime. Most of the film is flashback (in black and white) illustrating the progression of a relatively normal working class kid from average joe to a virulent hate-filled racist, and how 3 years at Chino causes a spiritual awakening and repudiation of his past.
American History X is kept from being a great movie by its preachiness, and a failure to resolve and/or explain some of its sub-plots and currents.
American History X is a powerful film with large doses of physical and emotional violence, and it definately deserves its R rating. It is a must rental for those adults not easily offended. B+