Painstakingly important film provides a shattering look at violence and hatred.

Rating: 7/10 (21 April 1999)

It was very easy to realize in the beginning that I, too, would've found AMERICAN HISTORY X a minor coincidence in the making. Well, I was wrong. Again! Even with the influential direction of Tony Kaye and solid acting of Edward Norton and Edward Furlong, the movie still could have squeezed more juice. It could have been simply more or less. More on its details and less of the slow pace, to be exact. You won't keep anybody down for not liking this picture because of its explicit nature. This one took the more provocative route, and it suddenly runs as smooth as premium unleaded gasoline. The disturbing racial hatred that has changed America's societal infrastructure forever is how this picture is portrayed. With its correct state of mind, the movie is nonetheless disturbing as well as horrifyingly true, and shows itself on a very high pinpoint of accuracy. It walks a large step further in giving out a dramatic study of what can actually be a truthful account of the life of a racial hate crime syndicate, and how the lives of two adjusting individuals are shared. The violence is what makes this movie fully express the way society is being mistreated. Certainly speaking, it does go off the deep end and is not for the faint of heart, so that's all there is to know. One nice touch is the use of photography and its expression of colors, which is a good move for having the story tell itself with proper understanding. I really wanted more out of AMERICAN HISTORY X, but it's got rock-solid potential to keep its open-mindedness with a variety of moments.