"American History X": actors and roles

In 1998, the United States, and after all the world, rolled out the film debut of director Tony Kay "American History X" (actors: Edward Norton, Jennifer Lien, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Ethan Sapley, etc.). The movie turned out more than provocative, shocking, but most importantly - interesting and beautiful. The box office fees only slightly exceeded the budget of the film, the project received dividends much later. Now this film is rightly called a cult.

Fighting vices

The film "American History X" (the actors and the roles that they performed, are the subject of heated debates so far) is an author's view of the struggle against individual human vices, such as racism and nationalism. Critics dubbed the film as another attempt to crack down on them - grafting political correctness into the fragile minds of the younger generation of Americans. Whether the painting was a state order is for certain unknown, but it is made professionally, qualitatively and tastefully. Watching the tape is interesting. It could even be called ideal, if not for the presence in the plot of several unpleasant moments. It is not known what the actors of the film "American History X" imagined, but scriptwriter David McKenna saw it as a story about hatred, origins and motives for its emergence, about the essence and consequences of this destructive feeling. Director Tony Kay wanted to tell about his cruel reality about his work, and as a result of their common efforts, a movie about neo-Nazis and the tragic fate of Derek Vinyard's family turned out.

The lead and the editor

Strangely enough, but the final installation was really performed by the lead actor Edward Norton. For the sake of justice it is worth noting that he did not have to master the wisdom of skill, he directed a whole team of professionals, among them were Alan Haim and Gerald B. Greenberg. The fact is that the original version of the picture was categorically rejected by the studio. "American History X", whose actors were already known to a wide audience, could fail at the box office due to the fact that it was too fast and quite tough. Although the director was against scenes like "everyone is crying, forgiving and embracing," Norton deliberately ordered to mount the film so that his character would appear twice as much on the screen, revealing his inner world than distorting the original idea of the creators.

The acting game of Edward Norton

His acting skills, praised by film critics in 1998-1999, deserves special attention. To the modern spectator his acting can seem even weak, many contemporaries believe that Edward did not manage to fully reveal the image of his character. Norton is, in fact, a very good actor, but there is a lot of "himself" in him. A spectator familiar with Edward on other roles ("Red Dragon", "Fight Club", "Illusionist", etc.) sees in this picture a convincingly crying, indignant, screaming, less joyful, but still Norton. For this, it is already worth recommending to viewing the film "American History X". Actors, pushed back to them, will also be of interest to the viewer. But not so.

Plot

"American History X", the actors and roles of which were carefully chosen and perfectly matched each other, has a difficult for the perception of an ordinary person plot. At the center of the story is the story of protagonist Danny Vinyard (actor Edward Furlong), a teenager who worships his elder brother and therefore absorbs Nazi ideology from childhood. One day, the headmaster is an African American, asking him to write a composition about his older brother Dereke (act Edward Norton). Derek is the authority, the leader of local neo-Nazis and on this very day is released from prison. During the period of imprisonment, Derek terribly changes, which he tells his younger brother, but much later. Events of the picture develop in parallel - in the present tense and the past (Derek's memoirs). All of them are reflected in the school work of Danny. Opus Vinjarda Jr. reveals the problem of the influence of the family on the formation of personality, as well as "American History X". Actors who played siblings, after the end of filming, maintain a warm and friendly relationship.

Value of the importance of heroes

The viewer watches what is happening on the screen with Danny's eyes, realizing just how the individual actions of the older brother affect the views and beliefs of the teenager. Based on the author's intention and the construction of the narrative (the turn of the construction of cadres), it is not at all difficult to guess that such observation becomes the most accentuated moments, while they do not occupy a lot of timekeeping time. In fact, all the timing should be provided to Derek, but only as a created image in the eyes of a younger brother. However, after the radical changes imposed by Norton, instead of the picture of the emergence of the adolescent's personality under the influence of the family, the viewer can contemplate the life story of Derek Vinyard, and Danny's attention is given only in the finale. Such is the movie "American History X". Actors, whose photos adorn the film's poster, reluctantly speak on the topic of the incident with the footage.

Black-and-white and color episodes

The ratio of the importance of the heroes proves that the film can be divided into color and black and white episodes. Such a course of the director has a much deeper basis than the delineation of events in the present and the past. Color can mean the beginning of another life, the prospective future in which false ideals are rejected.

If you look at the events of the film chronologically, you can see that the color does not change in those episodes in which the main character's worldview changes, and not in those where Derek's reunion with his family takes place. Color becomes a picture when Danny must, through the composition, rethink his views on the world. Of course, everything is much more complicated: Danny led to a reassessment of life's views of the conversation with his brother, who was aware of the work and thus helped him, as Derek was assisted by a black director in prison.

Neo-Nazis praised this film. Young people with similar views absorbed all the beautiful shots and pathos of the film, but could not comprehend the ideological messages of the director and screenwriter - this is the second problem of "American History X", the final version of which was not without the intervention of Edward Norton.

Even on the set between the director and the actor, there were scandals. Kay claimed that the actor often rebuked and rudely treated him. In addition, the director said that he had no desire to shoot Norton, who was conceited because of the first success.

The disagreement between the studio and Tony Kay reached the court. Kay was outraged by his suspension from editing and demanded a change in his name in the credits for the pseudonym. The Guild of Directors of the United States rejected this request, arguing that Kaem violated the rules of the Guild, which are associated with pseudonyms in the credits. Then Tony filed a lawsuit against the Guild and the studio and demanded compensation for moral damages of 200 million.

Relevance at all times

There is no doubt that the picture made a lot of noise after the release, and now, after almost 18 years, remains exciting and relevant. In addition to all the production upheavals and subsequent "paper" scandals, the film's interior was explosive - its subject matter, which is avoided in a neat and pseudo-tolerant American society. The actors of the film "American History X", embodying the idea of the authors on the screen, raised the inconvenient for the US theme of racism, and not only militant radical forms, but also expressions of discontent, outrage just behind a family dinner. Thus, the film demonstrates how racism is born, and in the souls and minds of children from well-off and well-off families.

Through incendiary agitational speeches of the agitated Derek, with whom it is difficult to argue, the viewer begins to understand what the neo-Nazis think and feel. With the development of the image of the younger brother, the decisive role played by the elder brother and his narrative about the fundamental changes in his outlook after being in prison, the viewer realizes that in fact they are organizations like the "Apostles of Christ", which included the brothers. The result is also seen in the future, as Derek's unbridled blind hatred leads, not even to imprisonment, but to the consequences caused by him. Only in the very end, Derek realizes to what disastrous results resulted his example.

"American History X" is a movie that has not been awarded many nominations and awards, but is mandatory for viewing.