Flawed but extremely worthy

Rating: Null/10 (30 November 1999)

This was probably one of the most hard-hitting movies released in 1998. Centering around a skinhead's sin and redemption, and the effect that his actions have on his family, American History X is a definite classic. This movie is gripping, spellbinding (despite half of it being filmed in black and white), and the ending sequence may even cause you to drop a tear. However, with every classic comes lots of mistakes, and it's these mistakes that prevented American History X from getting better recognition and more awards.
Of course, I can't start pointing out the movie's flaws without first singing the praises of central star Edward Norton. His performance in this movie absolutely redefines the word "bravura". Another great thing about Norton in this movie is that his character is probably one of the most well-written skinheads I've ever seen in a movie. Young screenwriter David McKenna really painted Derek in broad strokes, making him intelligent, well-informed, calculating, and even calm at some points.
Unfortunately, aside from Norton's performance, there is really nothing else to cheer about in this movie. There are many logical flaws for instance, how does one run-in in prison cause Derek to completely change around his whole mentality? How does this event make him realize that Nazism is the wrong way? That's never explained.
There are also flashback sequences in this movie that also make some errors. In one scene, Derek is thrown out of his house after cursing out the Jewish teacher. But in the beginning of the movie, Derek is back in the house to commit the double murder.
Derek's fat friend Seth is a by-the-numbers skinhead, right down to Nazi music in the car. Cameron (as played by Stacy Keach) is probably the second most interesting character in the movie. He is cunning, looks like everyman, and has a whole nation of skinheads wrapped around his finger (a la Hitler). But McKenna simply introduces him by name, sets up some confrontation with Danny, and brings him on screen just so Derek can knock him out. And the whole thing with Sweeny just didn't belong in this movie. Even though he is crucial to the plot, it could've been restructered so Sweeny wasn't involved at all.
But overall, this is a flawed but extremely worthy movie. Don't let these little flaws turn you away from it at the video store. This well worth the watch for anybody at all.