American History X (1998)

	Directed by: Tony Kaye	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE American History X RUNNING TIME 119 minutes
	Produced by: John Morrisey
	Written by: David McKenna

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Derek Vinyard	Edward Norton
Daniel Vinyard	Edward Furlong
Doris Vinyard	Beverly D'Angelo
Davina Vinyard	Jennifer Lien
Seth Ryan	Ethan Suplee
Stacey	Fairuza Balk
Dr. Bob Sweeney	Avery Brooks	½
Murray	Elliott Gould	½
Cameron Alexander	Stacy Keach

Review

Tony Kaye’s American History X is one of the most powerful dramas from a great decade for Hollywood. Beneath its layers of substance and sharp observations, it also contains one of the ’90s’ most searing performances: Edward Norton as Derek Vinyard, the bright, bookish kid who slides into neo-Nazism, murders two Black men in a rage, and emerges from prison years later a changed man – haunted by his past and desperate to steer his younger brother (Edward Furlong) away from the ideology he once embodied.

Director Kaye’s use of black-and-white flashbacks and a tough, shifting point of view makes the story feel immediate and reflective. The film refuses easy binaries: even when Derek unleashes hateful rhetoric, the script (by David McKenna) makes clear where the anger comes from, while never excusing it. A dinner-table showdown with Danny’s Jewish teacher (played with gentle bafflement by Elliot Gould) is one of many scenes where the film stages ideology as lived, painful debate rather than cardboard villainy.

What truly elevates the film, though, is Norton. His Derek is terrifyingly persuasive one moment and heartbreakingly fragile the next. His performance here ranks with the very best of his generation. The dynamic between Norton and Furlong captures both fraternal love and poisonous legacy, while Derek’s tentative friendship with a Black inmate offers the film’s most humane counterweight.

American History X doesn’t pretend to solve bigotry or offer redemption in two hours, but it leaves you with questions that linger. And sometimes that’s the most honest ending a film can give.