History of Violence, A (2005)

When I first viewed the History of Violence trailer some time during the summer it looked very intriguing. It instilled in me this feeling of excitement like when I first saw the Episode 3 trailer in theaters. But after the trailer came out the movie just kind of disappeared. After several months, David Cronenberg’s newest graphic film finally comes to theatres.

A friend of mine and fellow movie buff talks about David Cronenberg all the time-- Naked Lunch this and Dead Ringers that. So finally about a week ago my friend gives me my first Cronenberg to watch, eXistenZ. After seeing eXistenZ and after learning Cronenberg was responsible for A History of Violence, I didn’t have very high expectations for the film. But my reservations were mostly unfounded coming out of just watching the film.

The film tells a story of Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) and his family. One day, in the small town restaurant that he owns, two cold-blooded criminals attempt to rob him. When Tom sees one of his employees in danger, in the blink of an eye, he kills both of the criminals, becoming a hero. Seeing the reports of him on TV, some bad old friends come calling, one of which is played by the incredible Ed Harris. A History of Violence takes you through Tom Stall’s sordid past, not necessarily showing what he did, but the evidence is there in the stories from Harris' character and the outburts of violence we witness from Tom.

Cronenberg having a hand in the film almost assures that  A History of Violence is going to be an intensely graphic film, and that it certainly is. Cronenberg handles the brutality in a way that isn't at all toned down, which is a surprise when one considers the works of most directors nowadays. You can really tell that Cronenberg was pushing the R rating with his unflinching violence, even going so far as to included his graphic touch in a rough sex scenes on stairs.  Viggo Mortensen punches a guy's nose completely into his face, just as another example. It doesn’t feel like it was done gratuitously like some films (American Pie, Team America). But it was done to fit the theme of the film, as with Sin City , and like that film it tried to stay true to the graphic novel that was its source.

All of the actors play their roles very well, especially Maria Bello as Edie Stall, Tom’s wife. One particular scene when Bello goes out shopping with her young daughter and sees that Harris has followed her to the mall allows Bello to put forth a fine angry portrayal, making the audience feel that she really does think this man is going to hurt her family. Viggo Mortensen just doesn’t seem like the right actor to be playing Tom Stall, a man with a terrible past, but aside from that, most of the acting in the film is great.

This film will make the audience that you are watching it with flip out. The shock of someone getting hit so hard that his head is crushed and having it look so realistic is scary. If you’re watching the film with a squirmy audience then that aspect of violence and shock will be removed due to how some people can act. The film is called A History of Violence, what do you expect? Most people look to see a film's rating and why it recieved the rating it was given, and in this case it’s Rated R for strong brutal violence, graphic sexuality, nudity, language and some drug use. If you aren’t willing to come and see a film that is very grotesque don’t come.

In my honest personal opinion, I felt that the film didn’t have that much violence, but when those few moments where it depicted said violence, it virtually exploded on screen. I also felt that the film was way too short.  One hour and thirty six minutes to be exact. Cronenberg had so much potential to make this film really great after being gone for three years but he kind of drops the ball, delivering a good film, but something less than what it should have been.

You pretty much know from the middle of the film that Tom is going to go find his mobster brother in Philadelphia and that he is probably going to do something drastic to save his family despite the fact that two of the three members don’t even trust him anymore. So, unfortunately, you don’t get a real feeling of suspense when the middle act of the film comes to pass.

Final

If you want to see A History of Violence, I would recommend renting it when it comes out on DVD due to all of the rude people in this world and how they react to some brilliant things in film. I feel that Cronenberg did drop the ball on this film-- not entirely but it feels somewhat of a loss. The movie does boast wonderful performances by Maria Bello and Ed Harris, though, so I would certainly say it is worth renting. This film is extremely graphic with harsh violence, sexuality and nudity. I wouldn’t recommend anyone under the age of seventeen to go and see it.