The X-Factor, How Intolerance Can Lead To A Foolish Demise

Rating: 7/10 (24 March 2006)

With fear comes prejudice. With prejudice comes bigotry. With bigotry comes hatred. With hatred comes violence. With violence comes incarceration. With incarceration comes more violence, which could sometimes lead to tolerance. This is how a vicious cycle comes full circle with a young man named Derek Vinyard.
"American History X" is a movie about a young white male, with far above average intelligence whose father is murdered by a black gunman, is subsequently taught to hate. Instead of having the capacity to understand a bad coincidence for what it is, and let justice take its course, he turns the shooting into a racial incident. His inability to see the truth, digs a hole for himself that he may not be able to get out of.
The movie is put together with a series of flashbacks, alternating black & white scenes (the past) with color scenes (the present). Edward Furlong plays 16- year-old high school student, Daniel Vinyard, who has just been punished by his principal, for handing in an essay praising Adolf Hitler. His sentence: He must write a five-page essay covering the arrest, conviction, and incarceration of his older brother Derek, a Nazi skinhead.
Derek Vinyard, (Edward Norton), has just been released from prison on parole, for the shooting death of two blacks who were on his property, attempting grand theft. Even though he had the right to protect his family, he took vigilantism to an extreme. He was charged with second-degree murder.
Derek wants to turn his life around, close out his relationship with the neo-Nazi skinheads, and keep his brother Daniel as far away from them as possible. The problem is, that in the long time Derek spent in jail, Daniel had become much involved with the skinheads, their lifestyle, and their language. With his bald head and dark clothing, Daniel now even looks like a little skinhead.
Now the question is will Derek be able to convince Daniel to stay clear of the skinheads? And if he does, is Daniel too far involved to be saved? "American History X" is a good movie, but the ending is disturbing and sends a wrong message that is inconsistent with a story that begins pitifully, but progresses hopefully. The movie has too many flashbacks, and put together with the scenes in color make the film choppy in texture. Also the Edward Norton character never has the swastika on his chest surgically removed, which makes you wonder whether he has really changed. All In all, "American History X" is powerful movie, but not really a great one.