Edward Norton has been an underrated actor in my eyes. Delivering great performances in films like Fight Club, Birdman and Moonrise Kingdom, there's no doubt he's an outstanding actor. His performance in American History X is some of his best work.
American History X follows Derek Vinyard, a former neo-nazi skinhead that tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same path he did.
The widespread love for this film got me interested to watch it. What I admire is how far they went with a subject matter like this. Its portrayal of racism is unflinching throughout with sequences that truly had me on edge and even shocked me. The film doesn't hold back and I found that to be helpful to get into and understand Derek Vinyard's perception of the world. The use of black and white during the flashbacks was an excellent choice as I felt it was very representative of the hatred and violent nature Derek possessed. Not only that, it added a murky feeling to the film that suited the dark and angry tone of the film. My main issue with American History X is how the film depicted Derek's reformation. Witnessing the large amount of hatred and racism built up inside of him, I found to be quite unbelievable how quick he was able to switch against his morals. For me, this weakened the film as this was the entire character development Derek had but it didn't come across as very believable. In addition, the ending is also something I'm not sure how I feel about. The best part of American History X is Edward Norton. He always manages to disappear into the characters he plays and Derek Vinyard is no exception. He lives and breathes this role and does an incredible job playing him. Edward Furlong as Norton's younger brother is also very good.
American History X does have a lot of interesting things to say. The filmmaking is very well done and Edward Norton delivers an exceptional performance but I think the story required more subtlety and needed more to happen in Derek's life to make his reformation more believable in my eyes.
American History X follows Derek Vinyard, a former neo-nazi skinhead that tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same path he did.
The widespread love for this film got me interested to watch it. What I admire is how far they went with a subject matter like this. Its portrayal of racism is unflinching throughout with sequences that truly had me on edge and even shocked me. The film doesn't hold back and I found that to be helpful to get into and understand Derek Vinyard's perception of the world. The use of black and white during the flashbacks was an excellent choice as I felt it was very representative of the hatred and violent nature Derek possessed. Not only that, it added a murky feeling to the film that suited the dark and angry tone of the film. My main issue with American History X is how the film depicted Derek's reformation. Witnessing the large amount of hatred and racism built up inside of him, I found to be quite unbelievable how quick he was able to switch against his morals. For me, this weakened the film as this was the entire character development Derek had but it didn't come across as very believable. In addition, the ending is also something I'm not sure how I feel about. The best part of American History X is Edward Norton. He always manages to disappear into the characters he plays and Derek Vinyard is no exception. He lives and breathes this role and does an incredible job playing him. Edward Furlong as Norton's younger brother is also very good.
American History X does have a lot of interesting things to say. The filmmaking is very well done and Edward Norton delivers an exceptional performance but I think the story required more subtlety and needed more to happen in Derek's life to make his reformation more believable in my eyes.