November 6, 1998

At The Movies: American History X

By Ted Anthony
AP NATIONAL WRITER

Take a deep breath before sitting down to watch ``American History X.''

It's violent. It's harsh. It's harrowing and it's painful. It's also an incredible exploration into inhumanity - and, ultimately, humanity.

Director Tony Kaye was apparently so displeased with the final edit of ``American History X'' that he applied to have his name withdrawn from the credits. What a shame. This is a memorable, significant movie with which Kaye should be proud to be associated.

Edward Norton plays Derek Vinyard, the son of a fallen firefighter who struggles through late adolescence by turning to the neo-Nazi movement. With a charismatic way with words and a swastika tattooed on his muscle-rippled chest, he has become something of a teen idol among a budding urban white-hate crowd.

His younger brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), needs a new role model, and Derek is right there. Danny idolizes him, and when Derek is sent to prison for brutally killing a young black man who tries to steal his car, Danny takes up the supremacist mantle. His patron is the same man who guided Derek - Cameron (Stacy Keach), an aging, virulent white-power leader who lives vicariously through the movement's younger participants.

Sweeney (Avery Brooks), the intense principal of Danny's high school, has seen Derek slip away and wants desperately to save Danny. But his task is difficult.

Beyond this, there is actually very little ``plot,'' strictly speaking, to ``American History X.'' It is, instead, an engaging series of forward-moving tableaux, alternating between the present Danny's perspective - and black-and-white flashbacks of Derek's time in prison and his slow journey away from hate.

The film's biggest strengths lie in its individual scenes. A game of basketball becomes a street referendum on race. The ransacking of a Korean grocery, videotaped with glee by one of the participants, is unforgettable in its casual hatred. And when Danny and Derek remove Nazi paraphernalia from their bedroom walls, the silent scene speaks more than any dialogue could.

Norton is a master of switching personalities. He's alternately menacing and benign, depending on the scene - flashback or present. Up until now, the only real glimpse we've seen of his dark side came at the end of ``Primal Fear,'' and in ``American History X'' Norton shows he can follow through; his intense eyes convey more than most actors' entire bodies.

It is Furlong, though, who carries the film. His faltering adolescent - drifting toward the dark side - is a study in torn loyalties. His performance is subtle, genuine and, ultimately, heartfelt.

Brooks (``Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'') is an accomplished and intense performer, and his turn as the principal struggling for two souls anchors the story. But myriad smaller roles make ``American History X'' even stronger.

Beverly D'Angelo shows nice depth as the frail widow Doris Vinyard. Jennifer Lien is memorable as the boys' sister, Davin, and Ethan Suplee is intimidating as Seth, the giant neo-Nazi who idolizes Derek. Keach, of course, is great as usual. His age-mottled racist conveys both regular-guy normalcy and on-the-edge lunacy. And Elliott Gould makes a welcome appearance as a Jewish teacher who tries to date Doris, with disastrous recults.

There is, however, one niggling narrative gap: Derek seems to have converted too easily. Yes, Sweeney's pull is strong, and yes, prison can be a persuader, but to see Derek grapple with it more would have rung truer.

The editing, despite the director's objections, is impressive. Transitions between past and present, color and black-and-white, are seamless and explore the roots of Derek's hate. Sometimes the flashbacks are longer than the ``present'' - an engaging narrative weave that lends unease, but rarely confusion, to the film.

Politically, ``American History X,'' with its well-executed links between subtle and overt racism, is a racial polemic. Artistically, it's a film to remember.

``American History X,'' a New Line Cinema release of a Truman-Morrissey Co. production, is produced by Jon Hess and David McKenna from McKenna's script.

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