American History X is a powerful film depicting neo-Nazism and racism in America

Rating: 7/10 (1 December 2016)

American History X
Delivering a powerful and controversial plot, American History X tells the story of a neo-Nazi, Californian resident, Danny Vinyard, who serves time for brutally killing three African-Americans that were breaking into his truck. The movie takes place in the 24-hour period after Danny's release from prison but also shows many plot-defining flashbacks, shown in black and white. Danny Vinyard, casted as Edward Norton, shows a full range of emotion and motive from the beginning of this movie to the end. Vinyard begins this movie by showing the audience what they expected to see: a racist, hate-filled man with no hope to change his beliefs. When his younger brother, Derek, alerts him that there are three black kids breaking into his truck, Norton grabs his gun and, without any caution for backlash, makes his way downstairs to bring what he thinks is justice to the young men outside. When authorities arrive and tell Norton to get down on his knees, he complies, lays his gun on the ground and looks at his brother. Norton knows he won't be able to speak with Derek so he says all he needs to say in this one, powerful and gut-wrenching look. At first he smiles, as to tell his younger brother that he is proud of what he's done and looks as though he even took enjoyment out of killing these men. Then he narrows his eyes and looks deep into his brother's own and without moving his lips at all, Danny lets his brother know that he must carry the torch while he is away.
While in prison, Danny makes a few realizations that change his life forever. At first, he makes it known that he his a white supremacy affiliate by showing the courtyard his swastika tattoo. This gives Danny an inauguration into the "white group", which ensures him a bit more safety inside the walls. But when Danny realizes that all ethnicities work together to get what they want in prison, much like the normal world, he quickly turns a cold shoulder to the members of the group and attempts to fly solo for the rest of his sentence. This may have worked for him, with the occasional rape here and there, but against his will he befriends one of his fellow prisoners that he works with while doing laundry, and it just so happens that this man is black!
With a new outlook on life, Danny is released from prison only to find out that Derek has shaved his head, become part of Danny's neo-Nazi organization (which has grown and become much more official since Danny's prison sentence). It is now Danny's goal to try to take off the mask of hatred that Derek now wears much like Danny had to do himself.
American History X is powerful, touching, and shockingly inspirational. While parts of the movie show the darker and more twisted side of humanity, (much like the infamous curb stomp scene) I think these parts are extremely necessary and expose the racism and bigotry that lives in this country today. The darker parts only shed even more light on the positive, inspiring parts of this movie like the fact that this terrible, grotesque personality like Danny Vinyard can come all the way back from the depths of Hades and then try to save his brother from falling into the same pit. Edward Norton delivers a terrific performance and shows the world his open book of talents in this film. While Norton's performance is great, his seemed to be the only one that shined out of the rest. While there are some clips of talent here and there, these clips were short and sweet. Edward Furlong, who played Derek Vinyard, fell very short in my eyes. His performance seemed more like it belonged on Lifetime than it did on the big screen. One thing I noticed, that I feel compelled to mention, is the major abuse of the extreme close up shots. Whether it's faces, showers, or a basketball game, this movie seems to always fit an ECU frame in almost every scene to the point where it's extremely noticeable and quite imposing. The movie's plot and screenplay were great but it all felt very rushed. The flow from scene to scene was abrupt and I often found myself feeling disconnected to the characters, even Norton's, due to the lack of background story. Danny's motive as a neo-Nazi was a bit unclear. It's understood that his father was killed by African-Americans, and that before then his father is shown telling him a very racist lecture in a dinner conversation but other than that the viewer is really left to wonder why there is so much passion in hate within this man. All in all, American History X is well worth the watch especially if you have an interest in history, social, cultural or psychological issues.