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Attracting attention since Edward Norton's Best Actor Oscar nomination in
the role of a rabble-rousing Venice Beach white supremacist, American
History X has also been in the news because of director Tony
Kaye's efforts to dissociate himself from the product.
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For his feature film debut, British TV commercial director Kaye gets an
additional credit for cinematography. Kaye is certainly in love with the
camera, and often American History X looks like a show reel aimed
at demonstrating technical range. Media reports of the project indicate
friction between Kaye and numerous other parties, including Norton, in the
star's case over his involvement in script rewrites and editing. Kaye's
battle was played out in the trade papers as he tried, and failed, to have
his name removed from the film.
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Whatever Norton's part in the editing, the editors credited, Gerald B.
Greenberg and Alan Heim, must truly deserve their credit, not just for
enduring the protracted saga, but for putting together the unruly array of
shot styles for which Kaye is responsible. Sometimes, when the task is to
integrate giant close-ups (not always in exact focus) shot with a head-high,
hand-held camera, with wider shots, it looks as though coverage to cut away
to is in short supply. Assuming that the editors used the best footage
available, one wonders at the quality and amount of the footage left on the
cutting room floor.
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Also detracting from the film's total effect is Anne Dudley's portentous
score, possibly aimed at giving an heroic quality to the usually despicable
actions of Derek Vinyard (Norton). Dudley's justification, no doubt, is the
theme of Derek being a hero to his brother Daniel (Edward Furlong), until
Derek's experiences in jail cause him to see the light and influence his
brother for good rather than evil. But as one of the score's most
transcendental moments accompanies the slo-mo arrest of Derek following a
particularly vicious killing, witnessed by Danny, this would mean that Derek
becomes god-like in perpetrating his lowest act. I am not sure that this
passage aids in understanding the psychology of blind faith, or the
character of Danny.
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The film's title comes from the sequel to Danny's submission of a school
assignment; the junior neo-Nazi has chosen to review Mein Kampf for
a book report. For the script's dramatic purposes, the black principal of
Danny's school, Dr. Sweeney (Avery Brooks), issues his verdict on Danny's
conduct on the very day that big brother Derek is released, after serving
three years for the manslaughter of two blacks. Dr. Sweeney announces that
he will personally tutor Danny in an individual subject: "We'll call it
'American History X'." Danny's remedial assignment will be to write a study
of his brother's chosen course in life.
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Danny's documentation allows for various flashbacks -- family life before and
after the killing of their racist father, Derek's progress inciting racial
hatred as the protegé of white power supremo Cameron Alexander (Stacy
Keach), the events leading to Derek's jailing, and Derek's experiences in
the joint -- intercut with the continuing story after Derek's release.
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Part of Derek's conversion in jail seems to come from the experience of
daily labour in the company of an engaging black inmate; and part follows
his disillusionment with fellow neo-Nazi cons, who betray the ideals of the
cause by collaborating with Mexican jailbirds to secure the dope they need.
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From the hero he was to the white-power convicts when he went into jail,
Derek becomes their victim, as they gang up to make him their "nigger" and
teach him the lesson that designation merits. Enter Dr. Sweeney, Derek's
former teacher, who brings him books to read to complete his education for a
new way of life.
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But on release, the apparently docile Derek still has horrible revenge to
wreak on his previous mentor, Alexander. And he still has another lesson to
learn, through a tragedy that demonstrates St. Paul's dictum that
"whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
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There is a powerful story to be told about the white supremacist movement,
but it is still to come. American History X has its moments,
mainly through the star appeal of Norton; but his attractiveness alone
cannot convey the necessary glamour which followers must find in the white
power cult. With few exceptions, which do not include the seedy-looking
Alexander, the neo-Nazis look like undisciplined grubs rather than the
nucleus of a fighting force. American History X also struggles
with a talky and unwieldy script, to which Kaye's uneven treatment cannot
give satisfying form.
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Details
American History X, by New Line Cinema, 1998.
Director: Tony Kaye.
Screenplay: David McKenna.
Cinematography: Tony Kaye.
Production Design: Jon Gary Steele.
Editing: Gerald B. Greenberg and Alan Heim.
Costume Design: Doug Hall.
Music: Anne Dudley.
Cast: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Avery Brooks, Beverly D'Angelo,
Fairuza Balk, Elliot Gould, Stacy Keach.
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Citation reference for this article
MLA style:
Shane Lewis. "Must Try Harder: 'American History X'." M/C Reviews 20 May 99.
[your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/americanx.html>.
Chicago style:
Shane Lewis, "Must Try Harder: 'American History X'," M/C Reviews 20 May 99,
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/americanx.html> ([your date of access]).
APA style:
Shane Lewis. (1999) Must Try Harder: 'American History X'. M/C Reviews 20 May 99.
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/americanx.html> ([your date of access]).
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![[image]](http://www.historyx.com/highlow/lowpath/synopsis/images/index_01_02.jpg)