My very first venture into the world of Edward Norton was actually spurred by my dad when he suggested I watch Primal Fear. From that point on, I have consistently awed by his dedication to his roles, the vision he has for his character and, let's face it, he's got this whole duality thing sorted. I discovered the existence of American History X whilst exploring Mr. Norton's Wikipedia page and, seeing as I liked him so much in Primal Fear, I thought why not. I couldn't possibly have anticipated how much I would enjoy this film.
Derek Vinyard (Norton) is the young, skinhead protege of a white supremacist, neo-Nazi named Cameron. He leads a small group of angry, pissed off, white people in a modern day crusade to take back his neighbourhood from the "niggers" and "spics". His brother Danny follows close behind, idolising his brother and breathing in the propaganda. When a poor decision by Derek leads to his incarceration, Derek learns about the consequences of his life choices and sets out to save his brother from a similar fate.
Don't be misled by the title. This film has very little to do with American history in the strict sense of the term. In fact, I think the film makes a great comment about the nature of history itself. History doesn't necessarily have to mean Hitler and great wars, history can be personal too. The X in American History X represents an x-ing of conventional attitudes towards history instead encouraging people to look at their own histories and analyse the events that shaped their lives. This is a strong theme in the film. It is illustrated particularly by Sweeney's rejection of Danny's essay on Mein Kampf (for those of you who aren't history enthusiasts, that's a book written by Hitler during his prison sentence) instead encouraging him to write about his brother and how events surrounding him have come to shape Danny's own life.
This brings us to the theme of familial influence. The crux of this story is Derek's influence over his brother, which at first pulled him into a life of violence and extreme prejudice, but which he is now trying to use to undo the damage. We also see the influence that Cameron has initially over Derek and now over Danny as he assumes the father-figure role. Sweeney also takes on this paternal role and uses his influence to alter the trajectory of both boys' lives. This story is very much about family and how they can both save and destroy each other.
This film plays with linearity using black and white to distinguish events from the past from events in the present. It also does a great job of representing Derek's mindset in the past - black and white. I'm not sure if I'm being all english-teacher-y by reading into that but that's how I saw it. I do enjoy when films manipulate time. It sort of makes it feel like you're putting together a puzzle - when you start, there's no real systematic order in which you put the pieces together but maybe you'll find two pieces that fit together and then another two that fit together. The way that a film unravels which it plays around with time gives you that feeling of discovery which I love. These "flashbacks" also serve as a means of showing us critical events from Derek and Danny's pasts that have shaped who they have become - the basketball game, the murder, the uh prison shower bit. This all plays into the greater concept of history being personal events that mould us into who we are.
As in every one of his films, Norton absolutely kills it. Despite his age, he always seems to look very boyish. For this film he packed on the muscle, grew some manly facial hair and transformed himself from scared little Aaron in Primal Fear to this ruthless beast that just emanated hate and self-satisfaction. Norton returns to his roots of duality by contrasting this hardened white supremacist with his post-prison self who is more aware, accepting and rejecting of his past. Norton manages to aptly show both the hardness and harshness of pre-prison Derek with the softer, more family oriented and loving brother figure of post-prison Derek. The fact that the audience is able to feel strong emotions towards the same character but in two completely different ways is testament to Norton's brilliance as an actor.
This is an absolute must see film. Yes, the beginning is awkward to watch with your parents, yes there's a tonne of violence and yes, the director was a bit of a ... fill in the blank BUT this film also has some of the most amazing symbolism and imagery (e.g. the proud exposure of his swastika vs his desire to cover it post-prison, the pouring of milk onto the black woman's face at the grocery store, the taking down of Danny's Nazi paraphernalia in his bedroom). It is also filled with fantastic monologues that, though severely racist and prejudiced, ask the real questions and make you question what you believe and how you feel about certain situations (why IS it that Europeans can come to America and prosper while the hispanic and black population seem to be living in poverty?). It is controversial no doubt but it opens up a dialogue and it really makes you think.
"Derek says it's always good to end a paper with a quote. He says someone else has already said it best. So if you can't top it, steal from them and go out strong."
KEEP
9/10
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