Is this what has happened to society? I can watch something like this, even being a 20+ year old film, and feel nothing? No fear, no hatred, no sympathy, no caring, just nothing, as if novocaine has been shot into my heart. That's the power of cinema that I don't really want to see but when I do, I am amazed how well done it is. It's not the film I despise. It's that feeling I get of emotions I list above that I just don't feel when I read this in the papers, see on the evening news or on the street, or in this case, see on my TV as a movie.
The young Edward Furlong has made a hero (fortunately not a martyr) out of older brother Edward Norton, a skinhead white supremesist who in the opening scene kills two black kids who are attempting to steal his car. It's not the shooting that is shocking. It's the hatred in his eyes as he does it, as if they were his release of anger for the day and he could pump them with lead then go back to bed. After three years in prison, he's on the streets and finds out that Furlong is heading down the same path even though he's not even out of high school, his voice sounding like it's still changing.
There's no pointing of finger of right or wrong, of moral judgment from the point of view of the writer as far as I can see. This is what's on the news, documented from what's been on the pages of the L.A. Times for decades. The point of view is that society has become entirely rotten from all sides, that the hatred of all but a certain type of white is acceptable from the point of view of Norton's crowd.
Through history teacher Elliot Gould, a conversation erupts with Norton and his family (which includes ailing mother Beverly D'Angelo whom Gould is dating) over the Rodney King trial and riots that shows the differing feelings on the subject, a very intense argument that makes you ask if anything on these issues can ever be resolved. Avery Brooks plays Furlong's principal, a black man unwilling to give up on trying to save Furlong from his fate, and while he attempts to be the voice of reason, is there really any reason left in the world? When Norton rants at Gould in the most anti-Semitic manner, you may feel your gut wrenching up in horror, and it's one of the most depressing moments in screen history.
So is "American History X" the conversation we're supposed to have? The film is structured in a way where the current situations are filmed in color while the flashbacks are in black and white, and that gives it the feeling of one of Leni Riefenstahl's German pro-Nazi documentaries. It's obvious that sounds like this are meant to be seen when you reach a certain maturity because otherwise, they are often too deeply depressing to watch, and indeed, I can't imagine watching it ever again.
But the violence sticks with you, the image of Norton on the street in his boxers with his smug smile being arrested as if he saw himself as a savior of some sort. Once you see this film, even if you never see it again, you'll never forget those images, although as for myself, one viewing was plenty even if I never want to see it again, I have to call it one that I couldn't imagine not seeing. My 10/10 star rating is simply for the way it made me feel, the numbness of the emotions and the way it has made me think about every moment about it afterwards.
The young Edward Furlong has made a hero (fortunately not a martyr) out of older brother Edward Norton, a skinhead white supremesist who in the opening scene kills two black kids who are attempting to steal his car. It's not the shooting that is shocking. It's the hatred in his eyes as he does it, as if they were his release of anger for the day and he could pump them with lead then go back to bed. After three years in prison, he's on the streets and finds out that Furlong is heading down the same path even though he's not even out of high school, his voice sounding like it's still changing.
There's no pointing of finger of right or wrong, of moral judgment from the point of view of the writer as far as I can see. This is what's on the news, documented from what's been on the pages of the L.A. Times for decades. The point of view is that society has become entirely rotten from all sides, that the hatred of all but a certain type of white is acceptable from the point of view of Norton's crowd.
Through history teacher Elliot Gould, a conversation erupts with Norton and his family (which includes ailing mother Beverly D'Angelo whom Gould is dating) over the Rodney King trial and riots that shows the differing feelings on the subject, a very intense argument that makes you ask if anything on these issues can ever be resolved. Avery Brooks plays Furlong's principal, a black man unwilling to give up on trying to save Furlong from his fate, and while he attempts to be the voice of reason, is there really any reason left in the world? When Norton rants at Gould in the most anti-Semitic manner, you may feel your gut wrenching up in horror, and it's one of the most depressing moments in screen history.
So is "American History X" the conversation we're supposed to have? The film is structured in a way where the current situations are filmed in color while the flashbacks are in black and white, and that gives it the feeling of one of Leni Riefenstahl's German pro-Nazi documentaries. It's obvious that sounds like this are meant to be seen when you reach a certain maturity because otherwise, they are often too deeply depressing to watch, and indeed, I can't imagine watching it ever again.
But the violence sticks with you, the image of Norton on the street in his boxers with his smug smile being arrested as if he saw himself as a savior of some sort. Once you see this film, even if you never see it again, you'll never forget those images, although as for myself, one viewing was plenty even if I never want to see it again, I have to call it one that I couldn't imagine not seeing. My 10/10 star rating is simply for the way it made me feel, the numbness of the emotions and the way it has made me think about every moment about it afterwards.