A Great, Powerful and Brutal Film!!!

Rating: 10/10 (2 October 2015)

I finally watched this recently and was quite surprised by good it was. The movie deals with the touchy subject of racism and ends with redemption and sadness. Edward Norton was intense and brutal as the skinhead Derek Vinyard. His brother, Danny idolizes him and wants to follow in his footsteps by being a white supremacist. There was one scene in particular where Derek tries to make a point by almost attacking his family at the dinner table I thought was very claustrophobic and tense. The majority of the movie takes place in a series of black-and-white flashbacks that shows Derek's reign and killing two black teens for stealing his car.
Three years later, Danny is excited for his brother to get out of jail, but finds that he's reformed and ashamed of his past. Derek tries to help Danny change his ways before it's too late. I can't believe it has taken me this long to see this film. The ending is pretty tragic, but I would go so far as to call it a masterpiece. I would highly recommend American HISTORY X!!!