A History of Violence is one of the few
comic books made into a movie that I don’t have prior
knowledge of. Keep in mind I’m sitting here with at
least 14 graphic novels on my shelf and a box full of
comics. So what I did was decide what I was going to
write about the movie after I saw it, then read the
comic, then write some more. I think the book I read
was an abridged promotional version of the story made
for the movie (I got it while working a promotional
event). Nonetheless, I wanted to let you know my
knowledge of the work it’s based on before I get into
the gritty details.
Tom Stall, as we learn very early and have reinforced
numerous times is a small town family man played by
Viggo Mortensen. When two murderous thieves
break into the neighborhood diner he owns, he saves
the day by saving himself and his customers and
brutally killing the men. Afterwards, men from the
mob (led by Ed Harris) start harassing him with
the belief that he used to be a cold-blooded killer
with mob ties. The movie is about how the return of
violence into this man’s life effects his small town
life and loving family. His wife is played by
Maria Bello and the mob boss we don’t see until
late in the film is William Hurt
As a big horror fan, I’ve got lots of love for
David Cronenberg. Scanners,
Videodrome, Nightbreed, and The
Brood are horror classics. Even his turn at more
mainstream horror like the gross-out movie, The
Fly have earned him some kind of acclaim. He’s
also known as the man who successfully pulled off the
impossible adaptation of Naked Lunch and really
disturbed us with one of my first exposures to the
indie scene: Crash. Cronenberg’s provided
audience with an eerie feel permeating his films while
performing psychological studies of man. This movie’s
no different.
Really, there’s two wildly impressive things in this
movie. One is the remarkable contrast between the
innocent life of Tom Stall, and one is the disgusting
brutality of his former life as Joey Cusack.
Cronenberg purposely drags out the boring small time
life and inserts quick scenes of some really graphic
violence. And it’s not crazy, explosions graphic. Or
even lots of action. The violence just seems worse in
comparison to his regular life. Plus the sound
effects and showing of this violence really make you
cringe. I don’t if Cronenberg’s a genius for doing
this or not. I know he’s a good director, but it’s
also a trademark of the underground horror directors
of the 80’s to overdo the exposition before all Hell
breaks loose which was a sharp contrast to the
mainstream horror movies that gradually built up to a
climax. So I can’t tell if it was his natural
instinct or he set out to do what makes this movie
work. Either way, as you can guess, it worked.
The other really impressive point is that the acting
in this movie is superb. I really have never thought
Viggo Mortensen was much of ...
