American History X
Tony Kaye, 1998 (8.2*)
This is a tour-de-force performance by Edward Norton, as a white supremacist who wants to keep younger brother Edward Furlong out of the same trouble he's had. As a boy, his fireman father was killed answering a fire alarm at a drug house, so Norton harbors deep racist convictions from this one incident.
The film is a searing indictment of a racist lifestyle, but unfortunately seems accurate at capturing a dangerous sub-culture operating within the United States. Norton's acting ratcheted up a level in this one, he looks and feels this part so well you forget who it is early on. How he didn't win the Oscar (he was nominated) is still beyond me; this is certainly one of the best performances of our lifetime.
Not a pleasant film, but like Boyz in the Hood, one that needs to be seen by everyone.
This is a tour-de-force performance by Edward Norton, as a white supremacist who wants to keep younger brother Edward Furlong out of the same trouble he's had. As a boy, his fireman father was killed answering a fire alarm at a drug house, so Norton harbors deep racist convictions from this one incident.
The film is a searing indictment of a racist lifestyle, but unfortunately seems accurate at capturing a dangerous sub-culture operating within the United States. Norton's acting ratcheted up a level in this one, he looks and feels this part so well you forget who it is early on. How he didn't win the Oscar (he was nominated) is still beyond me; this is certainly one of the best performances of our lifetime.
Not a pleasant film, but like Boyz in the Hood, one that needs to be seen by everyone.
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