movie review: A History of Violence

Published in The Post-Star (Go! section)
10/13/05

A History of Violence 2005. Directed by David Cronenberg. Starring Viggo Mortenson, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt and Ashton Holmes. 96 minutes. Rated R (for strong brutal violence, graphic sexuality, nudity, language, and some drug use).

In case the title didn't give it away, "A History of Violence" is not an uplifting movie. It will make you cringe at times -- but it will also make you think about things like love, morality, and the complexity of human relationships.

It's based on a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, and it certainly is graphic (check out the caveats on the rating). Consider yourself warned.

The movie opens with a disturbingly nonchalant triple murder by a couple of lazy drifters who don't want to pay their motel bill, then shifts abruptly to a cozy family scene in the rural town of Millbrook, Ind. It feels as though director David Cronenberg is greeting his audience by splashing blood onto their laps, daring them to keep watching -- then inviting them in for a cup of tea.

The lead character, Tom Stall (brilliantly played by Viggo Mortenson), is the strong-but-gentle type who seems deeply content with his quiet life as a family man and owner of a local diner.
It's obvious his wife (Maria Bello) loves him fiercely, and their first sex scene conveys the sense of intimate camaraderie that defines their marriage. Their son Jack (Ashton Holmes) is a bright, tenderhearted teen, and their little daughter Sarah (Heidi Hayes) is a blonde cherub.

It all seems too good to be true -- so, of course, it is.

When the violent drifters from the opening scene surface at the diner in Millbrook, Stall saves his employees' lives by shooting the men with a surprising alacrity. He's hailed as a local hero, but soon finds out that one good deed doesn't deserve another. In fact, his heroism marks the beginning of the end of Tom Stall's life as he knows it. To say more would reveal too much of the suspenseful plot, but the comfortable part of the film is over.

By the end, viewers will understand the irony of an early scene in which Stall comforts Sarah after she wakes up screaming from a nightmare.

"There's no such thing as monsters," he tells her.

Maybe not. But there are such things as humans, and the dark secrets hidden in their hearts can be more frightening than any shadowy beast under the bed.

Want more?
If you share Cronenberg's taste for blood, check out "The Dead Zone," a 1983 flick adapted from a Stephen King novel.

If it's Viggo Mortenson's anguished-macho thing that's got you hooked, you'll probably like his roles in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy (2001-03) and "Hidalgo" (2004).

If you like both, try "A Perfect Murder," in which Mortenson plays a sleazy, sexy drifter involved with a rich woman (Gwyneth Paltrow.)
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