American History X (1998)

Some things I liked some I did not.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I will get the things I did not like out of the way first. There were a few things I found implausible. I will not give spoilers, but there were a few times you can tell the plot was a bit contrived to fit the authors narrative. It was as if they were willing to sacrifice a bit of realism for a neater story. I also object to the ending, again I will not reveal what happens, but it felt unnecessary. Kind of like overkill. With some slight reshuffling there could have been a more rewarding ending. What they decided on is shocking, but it doesn't really add. With that out of the way I can talk about the good. Taking a serious look at Neo Nazis is a very bold move. The overall message is still that racism is bad, which is hardly original in itself, but I still like how they did it. Instead of making the Nazis ridiculous cartoon villains, they actually gave them a credible perspective. Not that you have to agree with their views, but you can at least see why the characters think the way they do. Actually, if anything some of the liberal characters are at times more cartoonish. Then again that might just be because it is so much more common for liberal political opinions to be in Hollywood movies, so they inevitably seem more cliche. The cast all do a great job, Edward Norton deserves recognition for this, he was able to bring a very complex character to life, and explore some very dark themes. I know this movie was made well before Breaking Bad, but it does remind me of Walter White, in the sense that you may not agree with everything he does, but you cannot stop watching to see what happens next. Overall, this is a very heavy film, you need to be in the right mood for it, but if you are, it is very rewarding. This is a great movie.

What is with films and making me suffer. like. all these films are just out here with their cutting commentaries on mankind but all i want is some peace. or at least for some happiness. im in physical and emotional distress. I dont even know how to rate this. like. as a film that was amazing. but emotionally? emotionally, i'm not doing well at all. i can't believe they've done this. i'm honestly in pain.

This movie had everything and even more. I counted three times I was so shocked, I had to pause the movie just to pull myself together again and think about what I my eyes just witnessed.

When I first came across the movie American History X it was while I was looking through Edward Nortons films on his profile. Having seen Primal Fear and Fight Club just a few weeks prior to this I was intrigued to see what other roles he could take on. Furthermore, I was a huge fan of Edward Furlong in Terminator 2 and was happily surprised to see him on this cast list as between 1991 and 1998 when this was released, he did not have many major roles.The story is told through switching from present to past and the way it is done is simply outstanding. The flashback scenes are in black and white to firstly make it clear when the time period is and arguably also to show the darkness that was consuming Edward Nortons character when following the neo-nazi way of life that he did for so long. Edward Norton himself also adds to this effect and his performance makes it seem like he is playing two separate characters. His brother in the movie 'Danny' is played by Edward Furlong who gives a very gripping performance as we see his character change his ways completely in front of our eyes. The time period of only one day also adds the severity of this change and in a very powerful way shows the effect of influence that one person can have on another.For people that haven't seen this movie it is without a doubt one of the most powerful movies I have personally seen and one that I believe everyone should watch. Because of this, I have not given away many details of the movie and I believe that words cannot convey the true message that this 'masterpiece' conveys.10/10. Cinematic Brilliance