10 Movie Villains Whose Conscience Got The Better Of Them

6. Derek Vinyard - American History X (1999)

Derek Vinyard is certainly the protagonist of the modern masterpiece American History X, but it's difficult to label him as either the "hero" or the "villain" in any definitive way. Enraptured by the bigoted ideologies of his father and drawn into the neo-Nazi culture of his hometown, the Derek Vinyard we see for the majority of the film is a brutal, aggressive skinhead dedicated to a perverted purpose - and blinded by it. But a long stint in prison begins to erode Derek's resolve, and upon his release he finds his younger brother is following in his footsteps and becoming a young neo-Nazi. He questions himself and all that he's done, and he changes in a very real way. Again, Derek isn't a movie villain in the traditional sense - but while it may seem that there's no clear-cut "hero" figure for him to battle, it can be said that both sides are contained within Derek himself. Edward Norton gives a tour-de-force performance throughout, but showing the conscience of his character take hold is perhaps the most effective scene. As he later testifies, anger has defined the majority of his life. His conscience gets the better of him, and his only hope is that it hasn't happened too late.