Though it may feel like it has been a while, I return once again to my reporting on the celebrities of the Children’s Treatment Centre Roast of Guy Lauzon.
Having covered the panel prior to Christmas, I now tackle the event’s master of ceremonies, North Dundas Mayor Eric Duncan (one of the youngest mayors in the history of Canada, the youngest Warden of SD&G in its 165-year history and chair for the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus).
He pondered for awhile after I asked him what his favourite film was, but in the end, he decided upon the highly acclaimed 1998 movie American History X.
The Los Angeles based drama follows Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton), a gang member of the skinheads.
The film expertly flashes back and forth in time, with past happenings being filmed in shadowy black and white while the present takes place in colour.
One such flashback shows Derek performing a heinous act after he is warned that his car is being stolen by a rival gang of black youths. It is this act that places him in prison for three years. All of these reveals come by way of Derek’s brother Danny (Edward Furlong), who is narrating this story for a school project.
When he finally gets out of jail, he finds out that Danny is being seduced down the same dark path that he travelled all those years ago.
Through his prison time, the man has realized his erroneous ways and plans on putting his life back together — this includes getting through to his now wayward brother.
This new path puts him in a dangerous position, as he has to wade through all of his indoctrinated former associates, including his girlfriend Stacey (Fairuza Balk), his behemoth of a wild card friend named Seth (Ethan Suplee) and the manipulative head of the organization (Cameron Alexander – played by Stacy Keach).
With time, he is slowly able to get through to his brother and they dismantle his Neo-Nazi bedroom (a big stepping-stone in the movie), but will he be able to extricate his family from the hatred that has been created as a result of this soul saving act?
This is not an easy movie to watch. The violent acts one human being can inflict upon another can be quite jarring.
Yet, the screenplay does a great job at building character development. We watch Norton’s character change from the vile man he used to be to a man who wants nothing more than to save his family from the horrors he has created.
Norton does an excellent job bringing this character to life.
Balk is superb as his edgy girlfriend. Beverly D’Angelo does a solid job as the kid’s lonely mother and Elliott Gould puts in a strong performance as a teacher and boyfriend of D’Angelo’s who clashes with Norton’s character.
The performance from Furlong must also be highlighted. He captures the feelings of teen angst multiplied by ten.
The style of the film must also be commended. Though it cannot be called original (as mixing black and white portions of a film with colour has been done since The Wizard of Oz), it still works. These differing colour scapes capture the mood of our main character while also differentiating the past from the present.
American History X is a film that defines the struggles of youths within inner city gangs.
At times this movie can be rather hard to watch, but its strong story, solid acting and visual style create a cinematic experience that cannot be denied. There is a reason why this is considered one of the best films to come out of the nineties. So, don’t kick this film to the curb, it is well worth a watch.