American History X (1998)

American History X (1998) is an American crime drama. Through the story of an American family, this film attempts to explain the origins of racism and extremism in the United States. It tells the story of Derek who, wanting to avenge the death of his father, who was shot dead by a black drug dealer, espouses the racist theories of a small group of far-right militants and puts himself at the service of its leader, a brutal theorist advocating the supremacy of the white race. These theories lead him to commit a double murder, dragging his younger brother, Danny, into a spiral of hatred. Because that’s what it’s all about: hatred!

And American History X shows its worst excesses. Few films have this effect. They really do. This is a real hard-hitting film. Poignant, moving, frightening, unbearable at times, terrifying, touching…You could add a series of adjectives, both contradictory and similar, and they would all be in keeping with this film. There are very few scenes that aren’t ultra-powerful. And the music heightens the impact at just the right moment. It grabs you by the gut or brings tears to your eyes.

I saw this film 25 years ago. I’d been told about it and warned about one of the most shocking scenes in cinema. I don’t know how I would have reacted if I hadn’t known what was going to happen. One of those scenes that marked me for life…

Usually, when I’ve seen a film a long time ago, it has the same effect on me. If I hated a film, I’m not going to love it when I see it again 20 years later. But here, not only did I love it at the time, but today I can’t help but consider it a masterpiece, despite its atrocity. This is no doubt due to my background, my life experience and the large number of films I’ve seen since then. The messages conveyed are very clear and perfect. The script is rock-solid. The direction is impeccable. The tension is palpable throughout. The slow-motion shots really add to the perfection (not like in films where the heroes run in slow motion past explosions!). And the acting is breathtaking.

Yes, all the actors here are extraordinary. A film that brings together two incredible Edwards! Edward Norton is an actor who hasn’t had anything to prove for a long time, especially after giving such great performances in the legendary Primal Fear (1996), Fight Club (1999) and here, of course! But he hasn’t slackened off in the 2000s, or even now, as Red Dragon (2002), 25th hour (also 2002), Stone (2010), Collateral Beauty (2016) and, for me, it was a pleasure to see him again as the Hulk (2008) demonstrate. Let’s not forget that he was in the sympathetic Keeping the Faith (2000) as actor and director. He also gave his voice to an animated film like Isle Of Dogs (2018). In short, he is what you might call a giant of the cinema.

Edward Furlong, on the other hand, unfortunately became a household name thanks to this film and Terminator 2 (1991). It seems to me that we didn’t hear much more about him after that, although he continued to make films. Of course, he did appear here and there, notably in Aerosmith’s ‘For Livin’ on the Edge’ video (one of my favourite Aerosmith songs). I’ll definitely check out his The Crow – Wicked Prayer (2005) to get an idea.

As for Fairuza Balk, it wasn’t a great pleasure to see her again, because everything about her in this film is vile. Her fans will probably be delighted, though! American History X is still a sure thing from the 90s! However, I don’t think I’ve seen any other films by this director. I should see Detachment (2011), but I’m in danger of having too much to look forward to.

Rare are the directors who manage to make two masterpieces. Of course, this film is not for the faint of heart, nor for those who have a gigantic problem with the extreme right and its violence. In fact, when I hear someone tell me that this film is their favourite and that they could see it all the time, I always wonder why and whether they really like it for the right reasons. Because it’s easy to doubt people’s dark side. I even wonder if some of them don’t have racist signs tattooed on their bodies sometimes.

This is a film that reminds me of other exceptional films that show injustice and the fact that violence doesn’t help. I’m thinking in particular of Death Sentence (2007), one of James Wan’s best, and A Clockwork Orange (1971), one of Stanley Kubrick’s best. These two films clearly show that you can never get out of such situations once the revenge machine has been set in motion.

There are box sets that sell this film with A History of Violence (2005), which is one of David Cronenberg’s best. I’m not sure there are any left…