Short plot
summary |
|
The story is
told through the eyes of Danny Vinyard (Edward Furlong) who idolizes his racist
older brother Derek (Edward Norton). Derek is sent to jail for murdering one of
a group of black guys who come to his house in the night. (The
title American History X is the name of a school report Danny is writing for an
enlightened black teacher attempting to get Danny to confront his view of the
world). |
Please
tell me the ending or whole plot if necessary |
| While
in jail for aggravated murder (three
years) Derek is raped by a group of white supremacists. He finds friendship with
a black guy with whom he works in the laundry room. It is this relationship that
is ultimately revealed as being the reason the blacks don't attack Derek in prison,
despite plenty of provocation including a large swastika tattooed on his often
waved about left pec. On
coming out of the prison, Derek has reformed his ways. However he finds his younger
brother, Danny, and a rag bag of old friends, looking to him to confirm his old
white supremacist ideals. Derek
tries to break the ties with his old life, and explain to his younger brother
the error of his ways. He finally does it. But
it's too late. In pay back for past racist crimes, Danny is killed by a black
guy. |
Studio executives
summary / pitch
|
OK.
On the one hand this is a depressing, racist, story which will have audiences
running away at full speed... but on the other, marketing, hand, Edward Norton
has his shirt off and he's pumped... |
What our
panel of critics thought |
|
"Had
Elvis Presley been Norton's age when this movie was made he would have been its
star." "O-h
m-y G-O-D. This is the most depressing movie I have ever seen. I hope he came
to his senses by the end: I haven't a clue how it all turned out, after the first
15 minutes I went off to read the newspaper and then watched a documentary on
serial killers, it was far less distressing." "Don't
be fooled by the TV taster for this movie where Norton has his shirt off. Whilst
undoubtedly there are moments of triumphant in-prison homo erotica, that is the
high point. Get ready to have your depression muscles rocked." "Is
this the most depressing movie ever made?" "None
of the fun of the fair." |
What
snack should I eat while watching this movie?
|
Gruel.
Gruelly gruel gruel, and a glass of liquidized gruel. |
Quotable
quotes (real) |
|
"That was
real sweet!" "Hate
is baggage. Life is too short to be pissed off all the time. It's just not worth
it." |
Could
a gay carnival be based on anything in this movie? |
| Yep.
A gay skinhead carnival with lots of drums. (Cut the swastikas out tho guys, huh?) |
If
I were to watch this on video/DVD how best should I sit? |
| In
the face fully covered in hands position. |
Justify this movie's existence in the Classic Strand, by the Voice of Reason's
Professor Veritable Cornucopia |
Oh
me, oh my. On one level this is a worthwhile story to be told, but my, oh me,
I have rarely felt so depressed! Could
they not have made this as a two minute public information film? Or just have
Edward Norton looking straight into camera saying: "Just don't do it guys!
Don't be a lard assed racist. It's too much effort to be intolerant." Now,
how long did it take to say that? 15 seconds max. From
the whispers I have heard, this movie had a lot of trouble in its making. It is
truly depressing on so many levels. OK the ending is tragically acceptable on
the karmic scale of things, but the journey is quite hard work and I doubt I would
have bothered watching it all the way though had I not been reviewing it. No
laughs, no spoonful of sugar anywhere here. Just grit, a little gruel, and then
a whole truck full of gruel you could never eat even if you tried for the rest
of your life. You
may want to see Shrek as an antidote to this movie, or
at least to help you cheer yourself up afterwards. |
Is
there enough licky love in this film?
|
A
moment of machine-gun style rabbit boinkiness in bed, just before the shoot'en
starts. |
How depressing is this
film? |
We
have heard real depression described as an overcoat which you cannot take off.
If that is true, then this is the DVD sewed in to the pocket of that overcoat. |
Would
the scary bits make your cat jump out of your lap causing scratch marks? Would
your dog like it? Other pets?
|
| There
is a basketball scene which will entertain most dogs who dream of being able to
join in ever since they saw Scooby Doo do it once. Word of warning: their worst
nightmare is that the ball gets stuck, bouncing under their chins (they saw it
in a Jerry Lewis film once). Cats
are a pretty racist bunch and may enjoy this movie too much. According to our
Conspiracy Department, Adolf Hitler has been reincarnated about 3 times so far,
coming back each time as a fat black tabby. Crushy
type snakes may forget themselves and suffocate any living form they were cuddling
fondly at the start of this movie. Ensure enough snake stun repellent is on hand
throughout. |
Would
this movie win awards for performances of the f-word? |
| No
awards, unless there is an award for the use of the f-word in a gruelly hard racist
movie. Rarely in movie history has the f-word been used so much and yet so artlessly. |
Other
comments |
One
of those movies you might be tempted to see because Edward Norton is in it. A
truly dark, depressing, movie with a point. The ultimate point of the movie (racism
doesn't make you feel good about yourself) is a good one, but do we really have
to sit through all this racism to get there? Beware
selective movie photos from this production which can make it look quite Homo-sexy.
To be honest, the fit male physiques are basically the only thing going for this
movie. Thankfully the fat lard ass in the van never strips, that would have been
too painful even for this movie. |