Two-fer part 2

American History X (1998)

Nom: Actor (Edward Norton)

Why I watched it:

1) They had it at the blood clinic when I went to donate

2) I forgot to bring a movie of my own and the choice was between this and Savages

3) People have been telling me I need to see this one. Savages will have to wait.

I had some pretty visceral reactions to this one. So many shocking moments of brutality and hatred. I was warned going in by my phlebotamist, and she kept an eye on me throughout to see my reactions. She and a coworker even joined me in watching in the scene where they show Derek Vinyard's (Norton's) arrest after the most gruesome moment - the scene pictured above actually.

Norton's performance is so powerful and the shift he makes is so complete and convincing, it is amazing to watch. The non-linear story telling, enhanced by the use of black and white, really helps to get all aspects of the situation and spread the shock of Vinyard's crime. The look on his face in this scene is terrifying, but by the end I almost cried along with him.

The score. Fantastic! My favorite moment of scoring was in the celebration following the basketball game. It's already unsettling, but the score is triumphant and grandiose. The music echoes the inner life of the white supremacists: they could not be prouder of what they have just done. The score aids in the storytelling in such an interesting way, I found myself thinking throughout.

I feel a little weird saying it, but I loved this movie. It was hard to watch, but in a really great way. The aspects of race politics brought up are so important to keep talking about. I loved that it wasn't just the outright awful racism of the white supremacists, but also some of the structurally racist parts of modern society that perpetuate stereotypes. Lamont's story of why he is in prison for a six-year sentence for stealing a TV was a brief but powerful moment for me and Norton's character. It's one thing to see statistics on the numbers of black men who serve time in prison; it is very different when you realize the disparity in sentencing between races.

Suprise appearance: I saw "Stacy Keach" as one of the names in the credits, then when I saw him I realized that he was the asshole from Nebraska. He's even more despicable in this one. He's clearly good ad that. Also, I had to look up the name, but Ethan Suplee is a very familiar face from all sorts of movies (he's Derek's overweight friend). The moment he has with the jelly beans was both disgusting and incredibly sad.

Did I cry?: Weirdly enough, I almost did several times. Seeing that much hatred overwhelmed me and the tears started to well up.

Next up: Roommate and I are planning to watch Bad Grandpa tonight....oh boy....

(I tried to post both of today's movies as one post, but I could not get the formatting to work with the pictures :(....)