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Featured Actress: Maria Bello - Canadian cinema guru David Cronenberg has long been applauded for the confidence he exhibits from behind the camera. His movies, regardless of subject matter, almost universally share an overwhelming sense of dread, as if the world his characters inhabit is closing in around them and there’s very little light in their lives to hold it at bay. Unfortunately, the auteur has been prone to making leaps of fantasy that audiences cannot relate to, his movies dense with personal themes that only his most devout fans seem to comprehend.
Alas, the man occasionally emerges from his own head to helm something less “off the deep end,” and with A History of Violence, his subject matter manages accessibility while also coupling beautifully with his intrinsic cinematic skill. A largely well-acted and involving story of how past actions can become one’s identity despite contrary evidence, the movie is a near-masterpiece of modern cinema. Viggo Mortensen shows he’s every bit the star his turn in Lord of the Rings indicated he was by embodying everyman Tom Stall with enough humanity and pathos to show that one should not always be defined by his actions – that one often acts outside of his beliefs when forced to do so. Matching his intensity and sensitivity is the lovely Maria Bello who at turns is adorable, sexy, and infuriating as Tom’s suffering wife.
When diner owner Tom violently thwarts a robbery attempt at his restaurant, he becomes a kind of folk hero for making a stand. But this unwanted recognition attracts attention from a mob king-pin who believes Tom is someone they have long been looking for. The biggest question of the movie, is whether Tom is the person he claims he is, or if his violent tendencies run deeper than just defending his way of life. In examining this central theme, we’re asked to also weigh the proximity of lust to violence and, in one subplot involving Stall’s son, to consider whether violence is hereditary.
An often tragic and moving picture, A History of Violence is one of those rare movies that sucker punches the audience and then deftly explains to them why it was so necessary to use such extreme measures. It is the work of a director at the very pinnacle of his career who, in Vince Locke and John Wagner’s graphic novel, found a story that could reach out to the masses while also complimenting his personal tastes.
- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Studio: New Line Home Video
- DVD Release Date: March 14, 2006
- Run Time: 96 minutes
- Production Company: New Line Productions Inc., Bender-Spink Inc.
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