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Viggo Mortensen plays Tom Stall, proprieter of a diner in a small town in the mid-west. Tom has a beautiful wife, played by Maria Bella, and a son and daughter.
One day a couple of bad - and I mean really, really bad - men come into Tom's diner. The menacing scene is resolved when Tom is provoked and dispatches the bullying baddies as easily as Bruce Lee kicking a collective roomful of bad backsides. Everyone is surprised - how could Tom have dispatched those ruthless toughs so easily?
Soon Ed Harris, sporting a wicked scar, shows up at Tom's diner, claiming that Tom is not an innocent small-town guy at all. No, Harris claims that "Tom" gave that scar in his previous life working for the mob.
Hitchcock loved the tale of the innocent man suddenly thrown into a cyclone of turmoil and intrigue. Cronenberg reverses roles with the story of a man who is not innocent, but leaves a life with the mob to try a life behind white picket fences. I don't know about the real mob, but in films they never take kindly to such independence.
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"A History of Violence [Blu-ray]" Overview
An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father (Viggo Mortensen) commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.
"A History of Violence [Blu-ray]" Specifications
On the surface, David Cronenberg may seem an unlikely candidate to direct A History of Violence, but dig deeper and you'll see that he's the right man for the job. As an intellectual seeker of meaning and an avowed believer in Darwinian survival of the fittest, Cronenberg knows that the story of mild-mannered small-town diner proprietor Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is in fact a multilayered examination of inbred human behavior, beginning when Tom's skillful killing of two would-be robbers draws unwanted attention to his idyllic family life in rural Indiana. He's got a loving wife (Maria Bello) and young daughter (Heidi Hayes) who are about to learn things about Tom they hadn't suspected, and a teenage son (Ashton Holmes) who has inherited his father's most prominent survival trait, manifesting itself in ways he never expected. By the time Tom has come into contact with a scarred villain (Ed Harris) and connections that lead him to a half-crazy kingpin (William Hurt, in a spectacular cameo), Cronenberg has plumbed the dark depths of human nature so skillfully that A History of Violence stands well above the graphic novel that inspired it (indeed, Cronenberg was unaware of the source material behind Josh Olson's chilling adaptation). With hard-hitting violence that's as sudden as it is graphically authentic, this is A History of Violence that's worthy of serious study and widespread acclaim. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
OK film - J. Carey - oregon
I missed this when it first came out and had only seen pieces of it on TV but remembered that it was well reviewed so when I found a cheap copy of it I decided to take a chance. I was able to watch it all and not be too turned off so I guess it was OK, very violent and a sex scene that seemed pretty weird and a little gratuitous.
Certainly not for children and probably not for a lot of adults.
Devoid of David Cronenberg Feel. - Austin Somlo - Vincentown, NJ
Viewed: 6/08
Rate: 3
6/08: A History of Violence isn't as good as compared to Eastern Promises. The former seems to be unrefined, poorly handled, and ludicrous while the latter is much better done, sharper, and more focused. While the story behind A History of Violence is reasonably good, the acting is quite unconvincing. Ed Harris probably stole the film because he helped to jump-start the momentum since most of A History of Violence is very slow, especially in the first fifteen minutes. Viggo Mortensen's acting looks improved, but he is simply not believable as Crazy Joey. Maria Bello seems to think that getting naked in full exposure is acting and playing the anguished wife is dramatic. There is nothing I see of her that meets the requirement of her character, but she could have easily replaced Sharon Stone in Casino. Ashton Holmes, who plays the teenage son, looks like that he doesn't belong in Stall's family, and Heidi Hayes, who plays the daughter, is the least developed character of the film. William Hurt is overrated for his performance (hell, how many scenes was he in anyway? For how long?); obviously, he did better work during the 80's. Since his remake of The Fly, David Cronenberg has never been the same again. The more recent his movie is, the less David Cronenberg it feels. The same thing goes for A History of Violence; it's just not the same anymore. What made him the best director is the creativity he put in the older psychological horror pictures. A History of Violence actually feels a lot like a remake of Videodrome. Viggo Mortensen is Debbie Harry, and Maria Bello is James Woods. The latter is a newbie while the former is the old-timer; all there to do is create a catalyst and establish a bridge to connect both polarizing opposites. The angry sex scene on stairs is pointless. The tension between Tom Stall and his wife is simply not believable. Do you want me to believe that Tom Stall ran from his town to his house that is probably ten miles away while wearing long sleeves, long pants, stabbed foot, and wrong shoes? And he comes home not really all that sweaty? Believe me, I've run a good deal of my time, and something like that is not remotely possible for a man who is totally out of shape by the looks of his body. There is plenty of violence onscreen, but so? The high school bullying scenes are so 80's. All in all, A History of Violence is A History of Bad Movies.
Umm, It's violent, also a great story and great acting by all - Stephen G. Horlick - Gillette, WY
I think somebody placed the body count at 13. That sounds about right, Except for early scenes most deserved their fate.
Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris are stand-outs as is the screenplay.
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