Review
A History of Violence
- Director
- David Cronenberg
- Year
- 2005
- Rating
- Reviewed by
- Gon Curiel a.k.a. Groucho
- Review date
- Monday, October 24, 2005
The peace of their lives is well established in front of our eyes before the bang: the thugs show up in Tom’s diner, set to cause trouble, and are stopped in a violent but precise move by Tom. He becomes an overnight hero, his face appears in national television and newspapers, reporters hunt him everywhere he goes, and townspeople cheer at his very sight. This doesn’t quite disrupt his life though, as he decides to move on and keep things simple – the way he’s always done.
But things turn wicked when a big city mobster, Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris), shows up at the diner claiming Tom is not really Tom but Joey Cusack, a killer from Philadelphia who caused him much trouble in the past, some of which can still be seen on his face. Fogarty won’t stop until he gets his revenge, but he moves quietly and hauntingly around Tom and his family, which makes him all the way scarier. Tom claims not to even have been in Philadelphia, but one can’t ignore Fogarty’s claims and insistence. The peaceful life of Mr. Stall has ended, or so it seems.
What a master Cronenberg is! His films have always either crossed the line of violence and nastiness, or threatened to, but even though A History of Violence is in essence a violent story, packed with shootouts and gruesomeness, the execution is so elegant there’s never a false note or an out-of-place image. Sex and violence are sprinkled throughout an otherwise quiet film, where few words and even fewer gestures say a lot. The film is an epic told in the most straightforward, simple way, which is a reason to admire screenwriter Josh Olson, who adapted the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke.
I admired the film from the get-go, and went with every scene like a ballet dancer immersed in the music that makes his or her body flow like water. This is also due to the excellent casting of Mortensen in the lead, as he’s so completely credible in all the phases of his character, and he does go through a lot. Amazing support comes from everyone around, especially Bello, pitch-perfect as the supporting wife with an iron will and her own private views of life and ways of facing whatever comes. Ed Harris is chilling as the villain, and a welcome appearance by William Hurt makes matters even better, though that segment of the film seems to go a bit over the top.
Even though there don’t seem to be too many threads to this story, there are some subplots that matter a lot. My favorite involves a fight between Jack and a bully that picks on him, which brings up some controversy in the Stall family, for several reasons that turn out absolutely haunting after all is said and done.
Great work by everyone involved, including musician Howard Shore, editor Ronald Sanders, and cinematographer Peter Suschitzky. This is all so well crafted it’s a pleasure from start to finish. This is the best film I’ve seen this year, so far…
“Still crazy fucking Joey.”
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Other reviews of A History of Violence (2005): Morris
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Review
A History of Violence
- Director
- David Cronenberg
- Year
- 2005
- Rating
- Reviewed by
- José Ruiloba a.k.a. Morris
- Review date
- Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is an average guy who runs a diner and gets along with everybody in his small town. He has a wife, Edie (Maria Bello), and two children, Jack (Ashton Holmes) and Sarah (Heidi Hayes). They have a pretty normal life, that is, until one day Tom prevents a couple of criminals from robbing his diner and killing one of his employees. He instantly becomes a hero and appears all over the news. Soon after, a mysterious man by the name of Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) shows up and confronts Tom, insisting that he is not who he claims, but instead a killer from Philadelphia who ripped his eye in the old days.
The movie starts innocently enough... The opening sequence reminded me of David Lynch and the macabre way in which he forces us to feel some way only to slap us in the face with a bang minutes later. Cronenberg knows this effect and employs it masterfully throughout the entire movie. It is such a visceral experience that I think it is a movie that should be seen twice. The first time around it’s shock after shock with barely any time to breathe. But I’m sure a second viewing, knowing what’s going to happen beforehand, will be equally satisfying, yet more enlightening. Talk about a movie that stays with you...
And yet, it is quite a simple story told exactly the way it should. Cronenberg’s movie is about violence, and he knows we’ve gotten used to it by now. So he toys with us in a way that we never know what to expect, but we do know that anything could happen. There’s a difference in there, and it’s a powerful one to convey. There are quite disturbing images, but even so, the psychological ramifications are way more disturbing than anything we see up there. Again, the difference is abysmal, and the experience a lot more rewarding.
What can a movie offer these days that can bring a new input to the nature of violence? Believe me when I say plenty. This movie is fascinating because it gives us many different scenarios that make us think; it makes us reflect not only about these characters, but about society and mostly about ourselves. How far are we able to go? How violent are we inside? What makes us tick? What are we projecting to the people who surround us? Who are we? To what point are we willing to forget? Does violence get us high? What’s our morbid quotient? Are the bonds that tie us to our family strong enough? Rather big questions, I know, but what’s amazing is that they’re coming from such a little mouth.
The movie is based on a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vincent Locke, and adapted to the big screen by John Olson. It is a great work of minimalist storytelling, brought to life with gusto by the director, cinematographer Peter Suschitsky, editor Ronald Sanders, composer Howard Shore and the rest of the team. This is a movie in which a small false note could have been damaging, yet the artistic merits of these people only heighten the story’s power.
Viggo Mortensen delivers a performance of incredible restraint and immense power. I had never seen him quite like this and I was awed. Ditto for Maria Bello, who gives the best performance of her career and one of the best of the year, period. She commands the screen and holds her own while being our eyes. It is an incredible performance in which she gets to show a lot of range. Ed Harris is in full villain-mode, something he knows how to do. And William Hurt has a brief appearance that totally kills. He grabs us and doesn’t let go... great work.
“You know what you could do? You could die.”
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Other reviews of A History of Violence (2005): Groucho
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