While this movie is far from perfect and the script has more than a few problems with it, the movie is salvaged by an absolutely wonderful performance by Edward Norton, who once again shows us that he deserves all the accolades that he receives for being one of the best actors of his generation.

I chose to write about this film today because yesterday I wrote and article about how the media is portraying neo-Nazi movements as being widespread in the USA and I don't believe them - i don't think anyone really takes the media seriously anymore. I am not trying to follow up on that anymore but American History X wonderfully portrays how someone could end up in that sort of organization and a lot of it has to do with circumstances which are actually quite powerful such as the loss of a family member or the powerful bond that exists in an older-sibling type situation.

Edward Norton plays Derek Vinyard, a former Neo-Nazi leader who had to serve some time in jail. While in jail there are some situations that arise that changes his mind about his hateful ways, but before entering he had very much succeeded in converting his younger brother Danny down the Nazi path as well. I don't want to spoil the film but this focuses greatly on the amount of admiration that Danny has for his older brother Derek and how he seeks to be exactly like him.

Another powerful force at play in both of these guys lives is the lack of a father figure growing up lead them to fill that void with something else. That something else came in the form of the cameraderie and leadership that was provided by Cameron Alexander, a charismatic man who preys on boys without direction in life and recruits them into his "gang."

The story is told in a non-linear fashion and many times the camera changes from color to black-and-white. This is a fun way of telling the story and I have always enjoyed this type of art direction in films. It keeps you guessing and you have to put the pieces together yourself as the movie carries on.

Edward Norton was not the first choice for the film and the director was actually extremely opposed to his being cast in the film because he wasn't big enough. However, Norton was incredibly dedicated to the film and put on 20 lbs of lean muscle for the role and is an absolute beast in the movie.

He was also nominated for an Academy Award for this role. Take that director!

On to the problems that i have with the movie and to be honest I don't know how this could be improved.

• towards the beginning of the film, Derek is interviewed by a reporter after his father was killed (this is in the first 2 minutes of the film and likely in the trailer - not a spoiler) and this segment was very poorly scripted. Even a legendary actor like Norton couldn't make it good.
• Norton is portrayed as simply unstoppable and extremely admirable, including when he slam dunks in a basketball game. Norton is like 5 and half feet tall, he can't dunk
• Danny is played by Edward Furlong - Furlong does ok in this film but he simply isn't a good enough actor for this role. I think his lack of acting ability is why we don't really hear much about him anymore. However, i honestly don't know who else they could have cast because it needed to be someone around high-school age. As silly as it sounds, i would have liked to have seen Macauley Culkin in this role.

overall this movie was made what it is by Norton's outstanding performance in what I feel could have ended up being simply average in his absence.