Movie Review

A History of Violence

"A History of Violence" begins in the type of town where you would expect to find Andy Griffith and Ron Howard walking up the dirt path with a fishing rod. Everything is nice, tranquil, and friendly. Then we see the first kinky sex scene between Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello and are zapped back to the reality that this is a David Cronenberg film. The first movie I ever saw of his was "Existenz,? which I didn't really care for. Then I saw "Naked Lunch,? which really made me love the guy just for scheme originality alone. He has a way of producing intelligent stories about people and their flaws with shocking emphasis on the flaws.

Take Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) for example. He is a kind and decent family man living in the small town of Millbrook. It's a place where everybody knows your name, what you do, how many kids you have, and so on. Tom works at the local diner and has a very loving and nurturing relationship with his wife Edie (Maria Bello), and two children, Jack (Ashton Holmes) and Sarah (Heidi Hayes). The only way life could get any better for Tom is if Frank Capra offered him a spot on his new reality show.

Only everything changes when two killers hold up the diner one night. When faced with the do or die situation, Tom displays an unconscionable knack for killing. The act makes him a hero in the town and his exploits even attract the media. Tom could care less about all the hoopla, however, really just wanting to get back to the normalcy of his everyday life. That becomes an increasing improbability when a man dressed in a black suit, carrying scars around his eye (from when it was pulled from its socket) walks into the diner one day. His name is Mr. Fogarty (Ed Harris) and is an organized crime figure who insists that Tom is actually named Joey Cusack, a former hood from Philadelphia. Tom thinks that what Fogarty is saying is insane, but Fogarty thinks he knows the truth and so begins threatening Tom and his family.

"Violence" is a rare and unique thriller that doesn't give anything away before it's proper time comes. We are left to question Tom while at the same time like his all-around nice guy attitude and noble heroic efforts. Viggo Mortensen's terrific performance here gives Tom that extra veil of mystery, capturing the small town simplicity of the character. That is put in contrast with the action scenes, which undoubtedly place Tom as a very agile and smartly trained killer. Necks and noses are broken, people are shot in the head, blood splatters all over the place. The action is some of the goriest of the year but is also some of the most shockingly fun to watch. The fact that Tom is a skilled martial arts expert seems to be a part of his past, a past that he doesn't want to remember, but it never leaves a clear cut version of who Tom is. After all, how many martial arts experts are in the mafia nowadays? Tom seems more like ex-military.

As the movie continues, Tom is fighting a battle within as well. One part of him is the family man type and the other is this exquisitely trained fighter. Both are a part of him, one being who he wants to be but the other being the one he can't seem to escape. This sort of thing has been done before in "Jekyll and Hyde,? but it's always refreshing to see a thriller that hangs most of its tension on character development rather than on car chases.

The rest of the cast in this film get smaller roles but do nice work. Maria Bello is a good choice for Tom's loving wife and she also looks incredible nude. The one thing I was disappointed in was that Cronenberg doesn't achieve the emotional family drama aspect he was going for; the ending just kind of dies when it should be the movie's strongest point. Nonetheless, Ed Harris does nice work as the bitter and possibly delusional Fogarty, and William Hurt has a lot of fun with his role as one of the mafia bosses.

"Violence" is a lot more fun if you don't know what Tom is, which is why I took painstaking efforts in this review not to give anything away. Even if you do know, though, this is still a finely tuned character-driven movie with good performances, and thrilling action and plotting.

Craig's Grade: B+

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%