Moving and Thought Provoking, Harshly Realistic

Rating: 9/10 (6 December 1998)

I saw American History X last night, and I enjoyed it very much. The story is compelling, and the characters are mostly real.
The subject matter is both disturbing and thought provoking as we confront the real world struggles of a working class white family and their frustrations as they view their quiet safe neighborhood being overrun by ethnically-based gangs, while the same racial groups are given preference through federally mandated affirmative action programs. There's a grain of truth in the hate-based movements, which is part of what makes them so dangerous; and angry invective in response does not diffuse it.
Edward Norton is vivid and complex in his role of a confused and conflicted teen who expresses his inner turmoil through the vehicle of a neo-nazi white supremist movement. He succeeds brilliantly in being at once revolting in his rhetoric, frightening in his actions, yet real and reachable and still human.
Edward Furlong does an adequate job of portraying Norton's adoring younger brother, through whose eyes the story is told. But his adoration is so complete that he seems uninvested in his beliefs, and the character falls short of being a real person in the movie, and seems fairly uninteresting. I think Edward Furlong has a lot of potential -- he has a vulnerability that reaches out and makes me want to care about him; but too often he comes off as unemotional, too much like a stereotypical slacking teenager.
It was a pleasure to see Avery Brooks (Benjamin Cisco of ST:DS9) in the role of Dr. Bob Sweeney, principal of the high school and the champion of civil rights in the film, who takes a personal interest in the boys and acts as their counselor.
Elliot Gould was also outstanding in his role as a liberal teacher at the high school, who has a romantic entanglement with the boys' mother, played by Beverly D'Angelo.
Beverly D'Angelo played the role of the mother probably as well as could be expected, but I was disappointed with the depth of character exploration they afforded her.
I won't spoil the end for you, but I found it to be a little dissatisfying: ironic and realistic, perhaps, but not particularly helpful to the discussion.