American History X (R)

“American History X” begins as a movie about protecting your own and ends pretty much the same way. In the middle and throughout, however, Director Tony Kaye presents a stirring drama about racism, searching for meaning in all the wrong places, and how far even the vilest have to fall to rediscover the right path. The film presents Edward Norton as we have never seen him, struggling to make sense out of a series of events that have plagued his family, and presents a focused look at the power that hate can have as it struggles to maintain its violent grip.

“American History X” is not a subtle movie, imbuing its message through hard lessons and images. And it’s not always an easy message to swallow. There’s Seth (Ethan Suplee), an angry neo-Nazi who drives his pickup truck through town signing, “The White Man Marches On” and spends his time trying to impart their leader Cameron’s (Stacy Keach) message to young Daniel Vineyard (Edward Furlong). And then there’s a violent raid by Cameron’s group on a Korean supermarket for hiring “Border Jumpers,” and a fateful encounter Daniel’s brother Derek (Edward Norton) has with a group of black gang members that would change his life forever.

Edward Norton absolutely owns his performance, and it’s no surprise he was nominated for “Best Actor in a Leading Role” for his performance of Venice Beach skinhead Derek Vineyard. Walking around with ‘White Power’ tattooed on one arm and a large Swastika tattooed on his chest, Derek is the image of unbridled hate, and Norton pulls no punches in his portrayal. Quieter than his neo-Nazi counterparts, there’s a look in his eye that denotes his true intentions that Norton pulls off without even trying, switching on and off at the drop of a hat. One minute he’s capable of calm social debate of his hate speech, but the next quickly flies off the handle. In response to his mother dating a Jewish man from his brother’s school, Vineyard pulls down his shirt to reveal the Swastika, stating, “You see this. It means NOT WELCOME” as he throws the man out of his house.

“American History X” is a smart movie, not casting Derek alone in his hate but part of a larger system he helped create. There’s his girlfriend (Fairuza Balk), who is also a skinhead, attending secret parking lot meetings and rallies at their headquarters, and demonizing Vineyard’s sister (Jennifer Lien) as a ‘liberal hypocrite.’ The film also goes back farther, showing Derek’s upbringing under his father (William Russ in a 180-degree departure from the loving father of TV’s “Boy Meets World”), who instilled in him at a young age the notion that white people need to stick up for themselves among a nation of ‘freeloaders’ and Affirmative Action.

The film is split into two parts, one, the past, as Derek influences a generation of hate-filled lost souls to take up arms to protect the white race, and the second, after his release from prison for killing some black gang members who tried to steal his car, as he tries to save his brother Daniel from going down the same wrong path as him. At the heart of the story is also a dedicated principal Mr. Sweeney (Avery Brooks), who once got through to Derek and is hoping to get through to Daniel as well. Calling out Daniel after her turns in a book report on “Mein Kampf,” it becomes Sweeny’s mission to elicit Derek’s help to end the hate and violence in Venice Beach before it consumes them all.

“American History X” is a sterling example of showing and not telling as we view Derek’s transformation from angry hate-filled young man to a man capable of rebirth. Early scenes involving his gang of white supremacists are well done and poignant in their utter lack of moralizing. However, later scenes, such as inside prison as he struggles first to survive and then to live with himself, are equally poignant, showing the end result of his anger and hate as he starts to realize, for the first time in his life, that he may have been wrong.

“American History X’s” script is nothing short of enthralling, but the real gem here is the acting by all involved. Norton will both terrify you and captivate you as Derek Vineyard, while Edward Furlong goes a long way to shed his coming-of-age youngster from “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” as impressionable teenager Daniel. Neo-Nazi players such as Ethan Suplee and Fairuza Balk nail their roles with scary precision, led at the forefront by Stacy Keach as their manipulative leader Cameron Alexander. Additionally, others round out the drama, such as Beverly D’Angelo as Derek and Daniel’s mother, who tries to hold a family together while questioning what she did so wrong as a parent to lead Derek down such an ugly road.

“American History X” is a powerful film, and a necessary one. At the end of the day, while racism is at its core, the film becomes more, not attempting to cure hatred in society but showing the effect a lifetime of intolerance has had on one individual family, which might be a more poignant lesson than all the social justice rallies in the world. This is a tragic film, and as such leaves many hard thoughts behind as the credits roll. Whether you feel strongly about the subject matter or not, it’s a film you should see, both for Norton’s outstanding performance and the hard lessons it contains.