Oscar-Worthy Performances from Norton and Furlong

Rating: 10/10 (11 December 1998)

When I saw the trailers for American History X, I was mesmerized. I knew I had to see it. Edward Norton's performance in Primal Fear was spellbinding and his performance in this film was equally captivating. Then add in Edward Furlong's performance and you have a film that is worth the price of admission. But it goes way beyond mere entertainment. It makes a statement about our society, sort of like a punch in the mouth...
The script is excellent, the film's genre is superb, the acting is the best I've seen this year. I hope the Academy will consider these factors and award the artists who collaborated to make this film, rather than shy away from the controversy.
A final note. It's a pretty eerie feeling seeing your neighborhood on the big screen in such a vivid display of reality or driving through some of those areas after seeing this film.