American History X Details

Fantastic acting, but ultimately a mess

I'll watch anything with Ed Norton in it, and once again he doesn't disappoint. He's utterly brilliant as the bitter son of a fireman murdered in the course of duty - by a black man.

This movie is wonderful to look at: hardly surprising, considering it was directed by Tony 'Guiness adverts' Kaye.

Of course, the problems with the movie caused international headlines, when Ed Norton took away final cut from Mr Kaye.

First time I watched this, the acting and the look blew me away. But on second viewing you realise it's intellectually threadbare. The third act, where Norton is saved from a future as a white supremacist by a wise, funny and hideously cliched black saint is laughable.

Why is it so laughable? Well, the Norton character is an *intellectual* Nazi. He's not a thug, he's a political philosopher, and a very articulate one at that. For my money, the only thing that could change his mind would be intellectual argument and hard evidence. Instead, he becomes a born-again liberal just because someone from a different ethnic group is kind to him. Sorry, but in the context of the first two acts, that doesn't hold water.

Still, it's definitely worth watching, for the acting alone; and it's a good movie in that it provokes debate afterward. Provided you watch it with friends, of course...

[Highly rated reviewer]

Pure Class

I honestly cannot think why someone would down rate this film. It has a great combination of views regarding race and racial abuse.

At the start of the film Edward Norton has very strong views on race and his younger brother Edward Furlong wants to follow in his footsteps.

The way the story unfolds is very thought through. I dont want to tell you what happens but this film reflects why people all should be treated as one or mishaps such as the ending happens.

I would highly recommend this film to anyone.