American History X | 100 Movies Bucket List

 

Next up was American History X, another first-time watch!

I'd probably heard of this film in passing, but had no idea what it was about and had had no desire to watch it before.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I really liked the film, and thought Edward Norton was amazing in the role, but it was also a really hard watch.

And while that makes sense given the subject matter, I feel like a lot of what happened was in the film for shock value, and didn't always add much to the story.

For example, a lot of this film is based on Norton's character's past, subsequent jail time and then redemption. But I think there's an argument to be made that the events of his past made it hard to believe in his redemption. There's a lot of violence and hate throughout the film, so it can be hard to understand why the only character we're given to sympathise with is the character that spends over half the film committing heinous acts.

But then, I loved the idea of the story, the way Norton's character changes his life to try and avoid his mistakes happening to his little brother was really nuanced and thought-provoking.

The film is written and directed really well, and even when it's hard to watch, it's compelling and very powerful.

So I liked the film, and would recommend it, but I feel like films with these themes can sometimes focus on the wrong things, which can make it impossible to sympathise with the character whose redemption we're supposed to believe in.