Great performances, unconvincing story

Rating: Null/10 (20 November 2002)

Warning - spoilers herein.
I've only just seen this film on DVD and rented it to see Edward Norton, one of the most watchable actors of his generation. His performance, particularly in the first half of the film, is stunning. The opening sequence where we see Norton's character, Derek Vinyard, gun down two black men intent on stealing his car, is breathtaking.
Norton is utterly convincing as the angry, articulate skinhead of the first half of the film. The film never really makes it clear why he has become a racist and the scene where his father warns him against positive discrimination is not plausible as a basis for his becoming a Nazi. I can forgive the film-maker this omission; what I cannot forgive is the trite, sentimental way in which Vinyard apparently abandons his extreme views to the extent that he betrays his former Nazi comrades. What is his motivation for this Pauline conversion? A few conversations on sport with a black guy he is obliged to work with in the prison. This simply beggars belief. As another reviewer has already commented, the point where the concerned liberal teacher asks him 'Has anything you have done made your life better?' is ridiculous - you do not fight for causes to improve your personal circumstances.
The film is very lazy in that it takes the audience's liberal viewpoint for granted. At no point does a character convincingly question Vinyard's opinions on race or immigration. It is simply accepted that he is a complete lunatic and that no challenge is therefore necessary. This is of course extremely dangerous. In Europe, anyone who questions immigration or racial integration policies is simply labelled racist by the political establishment with no further comment deemed necessary. This has led to the rise of the far right in France, Holland and, to a lesser extent, in the UK. Lazy, complacent films like American History X will contribute to a similar process in the US. It was great to see an American film dealing with such a difficult topic as US Nazism but American History X is a lost opportunity.
Great performance from Edward Norton but he was badly let down by the script.