Produces A Good Message

Rating: 7/10 (23 February 2009)

I am a big fan of Edward Norton and something of a gangland researcher. I expected something of a "gangster" film as well as drama. Instead I got a drama, an anti-racism drama, that produces a well tailored argument.
Racism is seen as one of the greatest United States problems. The issue dates back thousands of years. I think it is wrong, but that opinion is unable to be proved. Many people have fought for civil rights, such as President Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr..
Derick Vineyard (Edward Norton) was seduced into the world of Neo-Nazi skinheads as a teenager. His father was shot down in a black neighborhood while fighting a fire on a drug den. This tragic incident thrown him into a large amount of anger and also created a grudge with other races. Cameron Alexander (Stacy Keach) recruits him and uses his charisma and intelligence to brainwash other frustrated kids into the group. At the end of Derick's career as a skinhead, he brutally killed two African-Americans that try to steal his car and is imprisoned for three years. When he comes out, he is completely rehabilitated but his brother, Daniel (Edward Furlong) is going down the same path. Derick decides that he must stop his brother from going down that path before it is too late.
Norton deserved his Oscar nomination for this film. There is no question about it. I have probably never seen a movie that produces such a good argument about the topic. It really shows the effects that racism has on a family.
All of the acting is good. The supporting cast was solid. Avery Brooks and Beverly D'Angelo both did a great job.
This movie made me see how bad racism is. I am not or was not a racist to start with but still shows you what the problems and causes are. I hope you, the viewer, see it the same way.