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A History of Violence - Movie ReviewAfter years of obscure and bizarre movies such as Scanners, Videodrome, Crash and eXistenZ David Cronenberg gives us his most commercial, mainstream and accessible movie since The Fly, with A History of Violence. Based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke this modern day western comprises of a tale of revenge and retribution on the surface but deals with social and personal identity on a psychological level.
Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is a family man who is married to the beautiful Edie Stall, (Maria Bello) has two children that he is very proud of as well as being the respected local businessman. When a couple of hoodlums drift into his diner disturbing the peace, attempting to rape a member of staff and execute the customers, Tom Stalls instinctively ignites into action by disarming the villains and dispatching of them in such a manner that surprises the whole town.
Stall; our average Joe becomes the local hero and celebrity. However it is not too long before his actions attract the unwanted attention that comes in the form of a mysterious man who goes by the name of Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris), along with his minders, claiming to be from Tom' s past. Is our reluctant hero a family man that just got lucky or is this just a shallow exterior to hide a dark and shady secret?
Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello are pure class in this movie and the casting of these two was not only inspired but a stroke of genius. Their on-screen chemistry worked to great effect and the highs and lows they went through as the characters developed and the story unfolds will have been felt by the viewers.
Mortensen as the lead is very understated and underplayed but this is implemented to great effect, showing that one does not necessarily have to be over-exuberant to pull of good performances. Bello, however, is even better as Edie, as her world begins to be turned upside down by the revelations occurring in her family life. Ashton Holmes is admirable as Tom's confused son, Jack, who is not sure whether to be proud of his father or be fearful of him.
Ed Harris is intimidating but also brilliant in his supporting role as Carl Fogarty, who starts the ball rolling revealing Stall may have a history and William Hurt caps it all off with a short but decent role as Richie Cusack who may or may not be from Tom's past.
The character development along with the acting, within the Stall family is brilliant, presenting the effect unexpected actions, whether perceived to be good or bad, can have on a family unit. This is exemplified with Jack Stall's mirroring his father's behaviour in the way he stood up to the school bully. As a consequence, the father and son relationship begins to break down; again illustrating that violence is a nasty vicious circle especially when it starts to spiral out of control.
A History of Violence is an excellent example of how mature direction coupled with a strong script makes for a quality movie. This is Cronenberg at his most inquisitive, challenging the viewers to think about issues of identification and violence on both sociological and psychological levels and it is through the brutality and bloodshed on screen that these challenges arise.
This modern day cowboy flick also works by not glorifying and glamorising violent behaviour. in fact it is the uneasy, graceless, inelegant manner of the violence that enhances how uncomfortable we should all feel about it. For this, Cronenberg should be applauded.
What this film also shows that one must face the consequences of their actions. In this case, Stall's past has came back to bite him on the ass and he has to face that reality by discovering if he really is Tom Stall, or the man he left behind many years ago.
David Cronenberg has succeeded in making a quality movie. Even though it initially moves along at a snail's pace, A History of Violence does gather momentum making this compelling viewing.
With a jolt from the past and a throw back to when cinema was about the Wild Wild West, anyone brought up on classic westerns (not Spaghetti Westerns) will truly enjoy this. You'll be hard pressed to find an example of better filmmaking, or more importantly, a better movie... Leon Nicholson
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