Some Legacies Must End

Rating: 10/10 (21 April 2005)

This movie is one of the best films dealing with Nazism and how hatred can destroy your life. Lots of people who have not seen this movie think it is pro Nazi belief. It is not that at all, it shows that racism and Anti-Semitism is a thing of the past and that hating people for their race and religion doesn't improve your life. It revolves around a very troubled and misguided young man Derek Vinyard (Ed Norton)who winds up killing two black kids and gets 3 years in jail for it. In the pen Derek learns that what he did had no good effect on his life at all and it didn't better his situation. The flash backs are so well done and the things Derek does and what happens to him really make you feel sorry for him.
Derek's transformation from skin head to a good person does not come without a price. He has differences with other Nazis in jail which leads to him being their "wife". After this happens he realizes what wrongs he has done in his life and he now tries to fix them. When released from jail Derek realizes that his brother Danny is headed down the same path as him. This results in Derek ending his tenure with his Nazi friends and telling Danny why he had to do this. The end of the movie shows that old wounds do not heal and he ends up paying the ultimate price for it.
The message they are trying to put forth in this film is that hate is just extra baggage and that we need to stop hating what we don't understand. It is a very compelling story and it makes you realize how much hate and resentment there still is in this world.