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American History X (1998)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 11/04, 12/14

AHX
12/14: American History X seems like a good film, but when I think about it deeply, "pretentious" keeps coming to my mind.

Edward Norton could've won the Oscar that year because all the right elements were in place. The huge swastika symbol over his heart was going to be the clincher as evidenced by the grinning Edward Norton who raised his arms in the air to bask in the glory of black and white. The goal was to make the voting members go apeshit over it.

So, what happened? Well, the truth is: his performance wasn't that good. So there it is, and fuck you, Edward Norton fans. There are two parts the actor completely owns. Otherwise, he's ordinary.

The dinner scene, which is Raging Bull-esque, should've set the tone to shape the film because of the intelligent discussion about race relations. But soon after, the director loses the ball by opting for a nice, neat simplification of why Derek Vinyard became a member of the Aryan Brotherhood.

The other is when the truck was being burglarized by a trio of black thugs to set up the scene for Edward Norton so he could have his own kick-ass moment by breaking one of their jaws against the curb. That's when the pretentiousness finally reached its zenith as soon as he showed off his tattoo-clad body.

Remember when Derek was anally raped? It's probably the first time in his pathetic life that he felt physically hurt. Now, Derek wants to run away from this façade of hatred because he finally realized he wasn't so tough after all. It's all right, Derek. Here's a box of kleenex. *pats his back several times* Have a good blow. Also, Derek changes his mind about black people in general after making friends with one in prison. Come on, does Hollywood think everybody is stupid?

Hence, American History X can't be taken seriously as a message picture about hate crime. It's more interested in the glamour and coolness of being a Nazi skinhead than the impact of his negative actions on the victims, hence the "duh" ending. Anyway, forget Edward Furlong; that guy sucks. The cinematography is well-done, keeping me interested for a while.

All in all, I'm glad Edward Norton didn't win the Oscar for Best Actor.