American History X - review

There are things in this movie that don't seem to add up, but then again, maybe life doesn't either. It seems illogical, and certainly against Hollywood clichés, to show us a neonazi called Derek Vinyard who is actually quite intelligent and from suburbia, not backward and from the deep south. It's also a great move to make him spew his racist rhetoric about niggers getting all the welfare money and special treatment, without offering much of a liberal counterargument (Elliott Gould as the liberal Jewish teacher hardly gets a word in edgeways). The moral of the story is not that Derek's wrong about all this (even though he is), but that his warped view of blacks and Jews and his violent treatment of them comes more from an anger that is all his own. After cruelly killing a black gang member in front of his home, he goes to prison and learns that principles fly out the door when you're behind bars. Derek finds redemption in the joint and exits a believably changed man. Just in time, it seems, to save his equally intelligent brother Danny from going his way. Danny, played by Edward Furlong, whom we remember as the not-even-that-annoying kid actor from Terminator 2, seems capable of being saved, especially by his big brother. The ending of the movie is very inventive and unexpected, and again throws a new light on the theme of the movie. All in all, American History X is pretty impressive and in my opinion, expresses wisdom without being overly moralistic. Pointless trivia: two actors in this movie, Avery Brooks and Jennifer Lien, acted in two Star Trek series.