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On Saturday, I took a date to see American
History X. Quite an engrossing,
entertaining, thought provoking movie. Actually, the movie his
sort of a little close to home for me as a white southerner. The
subtle racism throughout the movie I could definitely relate to.
The film centers on the actions of a young
Neo-Nazi who kills two black people and goes to jail where he
learns that his beliefs aren't as true as he once thought. He
realizes his younger brother is following the same path, and he
tries to steer him away from it before it is too late.
Edward Norton (who was great in "Primal
Fear") plays the shin-head. He was absolutely superb in this
role. When a skin-head, you could see the hate and rage. As a
repentant man, you can see how much he loves his family he is
desperately trying to salvage. In short, he was brilliant. He
plays a very difficult role phenomenally well.
Edward Furlong (John Connor from T2) was very
creepy as the kid who would become a skin-head. A very convincing
performance of a character who looks up to his brother for
guidance. He even does well with the mildly-interested in hate
stuff he has to accomplish. He plays it with his common
not-too-involved-emotionally style he always does, but he was a
good choice as that was needed for the role.
All in all, this is one of the best movies of
the year. I loved the camera work with b&w memory scenes,
repetition of key moments, and the final surprising scene.
I can't recommend this movie enough. But, go
with plenty of energy as I felt wore-out as the lights came back
up.
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