American History X

(New Line)

After shocking his history teacher (Elliott Gould) with a research paper on Mein Kampf, young Danny Vinyard (a bland Edward Furlong) gets tutored by the school's idealistic principal, Bob Sweeney (Avery Brooks), in a course he dubs "American History X." First-time director Tony Kaye's attempt to limn the skinhead, neo-Nazi movement is clumsy and exploitative; this History becomes coherent only when Danny's brother Derek (Edward Norton) articulates his racist ideology.