Solid sociological study of racism

Rating: Null/10 (23 January 1999)

Even though first-time feature director Tony Kaye shot himself and his credibility in the foot when he went on a media tirade against the so-called "Edward Norton Cut" of American History X, the picture still delivers as a tense, effective drama worthy of serious thought. Kaye may have sounded both whiny (about the final edit) and ridiculous (his boast that he was "minute for minute" a better filmmaker than Stanley Kubrick), but he shouldn't disown the version of AHX that made it to the theaters. Perhaps he was jealous of Norton, whose electrifying performance as neo-Nazi Derek Vinyard anchors the film. Ultimately, the script might have been the fly in the ointment of total critical success, as a number of plot points stretch credulity.