A History of Violence

A History of Violence
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris
Studio: New Line
Rating: 7.5/10

CORPORATE LINE: A thriller from director David Cronenberg, A History of Violence stars Viggo Mortensen as a pillar of a small town community who runs a diner and lives a happy and quiet life with his wife (Maria Bello) and two children. But their lives are forever changed when Mortensen thwarts an attempted robbery and is lauded as a hero by the media, attracting the attention of some mobsters (William Hurt and Ed Harris) who believe he is someone else.

THE MOVIE: What separates A History of Violence, from the usual ho-hum murderous entertainment that saturate television and film today, is its acumen. It seemed that films that build from beginning to end were long gone—a thing of Hollywood’s glorious past. Most just hobble along hoping that their ‘twist’ would be enough to satisfy an audience. The twist just doesn’t work anymore. We want to be entertained from beginning to end and A History of Violence succeeds.

If it weren’t for the film’s title we’d have never suspected that Viggo Mortensen’s Tom were anything but a good guy who would go out of his way to help his family or friends. That is the beauty of A History of Violence—just when you think you have it all figured out more comes to a head.

THE EXTRAS:
Commentary by: Director David Cronenberg does a fantastic job of giving us background information on the film, what it is like to make a movie, and working with the actors.

Deleted scene with optional commentary by director David Cronenberg

“Acts of Violence” – This featurette is an hour-long documentary that goes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew.

“Violence’s History: U.S. vs. International Versions” – Part of the film was edited and we see the difference between the U.S. and International version.

“Too Commercial for Cannes” – A throw-away featurette about screening the film at Cannes.

“The Unmaking of Scene 44” – This is the only deleted scene featured.

FRANKLY: A History of Violence is intense. The standout is Viggo Mortensen. He holds this movie together. Sure it would have worked without him but his manner is perfect for Tom Stall—calm and seeming collected. You can almost sense that monster hiding somewhere under his skin.

Overall this is a fantastic cast who had to stay on the edge when filming a movie that is so intense. Never do they fall out of that place. You always feel like any second everything could just fall apart—they keep it together well. A History of Violence is not only a good movie but also a great education in storytelling.

+ Charlie Craine


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