***spoilers contained***couldn't it have ended five minutes earlier?

Rating: 8/10 (10 July 2007)

American History X is a brutal and moving portrayal of racism in late-20th century America. At first, it seems balanced and intelligent, which makes it all the more tragic. This leads a viewer to feel uncomfortable--on the surface, it seems to bring out questions of one's own views on racism, but on repeated viewings, I figured out why it left a bad taste in my mouth.
First the good: American History X is beautifully shot, with a grace that few movies achieve. Tony Kaye's background as a director and cinematographer is in music videos, but instead of quick edits and jarring effects to build tension, he uses light and textures, and often slows moments of impact so that even the most brutal scenes become a sort of ballet of forms.
In addition to powerful performances by the film's leads, Edward Norton and Edward Furlong, who are two of the best actors of the 1990s, the supporting cast brings depth and subtlety to even the smallest roles. Standouts include Stacy Keach as a White Supremacist leader, Beverly D'Angelo as a frustrated but loving single mother, and my favourite of the group, Elliott Gould as a Jewish high school history teacher, who acts as a catalyst for a couple of small, important moments in the action. Gould's performance is completely heartbreaking during one scene, where he says nothing for several minutes, but the sadness on his face says everything: "Where did everyone go wrong?"
This is the important question, and the film works hard to show the White Supremacists as a group of frustrated, angry kids who have been led to this point through the leader's exploitation. In fact, they're realistic enough that they reminded me of several of the guys I knew in high school, who were, like Derek Vinyard, so smart and informed about politics that you wondered what they could achieve if they used their powers for good. Through the narrative, we see Vinyard transform from an angry kid with something to prove into a complicated adult, who learns lessons about compassion and consequence, and tries to show them to his brother Daniel.
****SPOILERS BELOW***
Unfortunately, they should have left it at that. The film fails for two reasons. The first is that the death of a major character at the end of the film, for no good reason, to me says that the writer didn't know how to end the story, and I consider this a weakness. The movie seems to be saying that violence begets violence, however, violence is usually the end result of a set of circumstances. While the film tries hard to achieve a balance that shows all the characters, white and non-white, as being well rounded, with both positive and negative qualities, I think it fails most of its Young Black Male characters.
The second reason the film fails is that by having Danny die as the result of race-related gang violence, the message of the movie underscores what the "bad" White Supremacists have been saying all along: Blacks are the scourge of the community the White gangs are trying to protect, and violence is a way of life for "those people." That's the true tragedy. It's bad enough that gangs ARE a source of identity and culture, and that so many young men live such a violent existence, but American History X perpetuates the same tired stereotypes. Will Hollywood ever break free of this? Somehow I doubt it--if nothing else, it sells.
Whatever your views on racism, whatever side of that line you're on, American History X is still a gripping movie, despite its flaws. It will stay with you for a long, long time.