A History of Violence

A History of Violence is one of the hottest tickets at this year ' s Toronto International Film Festival was this latest offering by Canadian director David Cronenberg. It may have entered the city with mostly mixed reviews from its official debut in Cannes back in May, but it left the metropolis riding a virtual wave of raves from North American critics quick to praise its unflinching look at a culture that makes our primal inclinations towards violence rise to the surface with shocking facility. With over three hundred movies to choose from and having little advance info on the lion ' s share of the festival ' s schedule, I eagerly stood in line on a beautiful September morning for an early taste of what was sure to be one of this fall ' s most talked-about pieces of cinema.

With a script based on a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE focuses on the Stall family of sleepy Millbrook, Indiana. Tom (Viggo Mortensen), wife Edie (Maria Bello) and their two kids have carved out a life of idyllic Midwestern bliss, one where the local sheriff is always your friend, neighbours look out for one another, and the best slice of pie you ' ve had in your life can be found just down the street at the local diner. While the seemingly mild-mannered patriarch prepares to close shop one night at said diner, a pair of armed robbers attempt to make trouble when out of nowhere Tom switches into Arnold Schwarzenegger from TERMINATOR and quickly " and brutally " dispenses of the threat. Proclaimed a hero by locals and the media alike, the incident soon draws the attention of some Philadelphia mobsters - led by a menacing Ed Harris - who ride into town convinced that they ' ve found a rival wiseguy named Joey Cusack who ' s got unfinished business back in Philly. Tom vehemently denies any association with these lowlifes, but his recent behaviour has even his doting spouse question whether she truly knows her husband of twenty years.

As the big-city toughs intensify their pressure on the family, the Stalls 'Norman Rockwell-like existence begins to unravel. Suddenly, Tom ' s likable but nerdish teenage son, Jack (Ashton Holmes) finds the 'eye of the tiger '- or something - within him as he finally cracks under the pressure of a bully ' s taunts.

Claims that HISTORY is the director ' s stab at mainstream success are presumably due to his choice of fixing his critical eye on Middle America as opposed to, say, 'auto ' -erotic fetishists in CRASH or maniacal twin gynaecologists in DEAD RINGERS. His love of dark humour and pushing buttons within his audience has always served his past choice of material well. Here, it causes a rather dramatic shift in tone midway through that made me feel like I was watching two different movies at once. Scenes of compelling human drama are interspersed with more farcical ones, most notably in a climatic encounter between Tom and a mafia kingpin (a memorably hammy William Hurt) that borders on slapstick. Hurt ' s extended cameo is richly enjoyable on its own terms, but as part of the bigger fabric of HISTORY, I couldn ' t help but wonder how the film ' s disparate jigsaw puzzle pieces were meant to fit together. So much so that I ' m strongly tempted to watch the movie again now that it has reached local theatres, solely for the purpose of trying to uncover what film critics found so mesmerizing.

It ' s not that I hated A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE by any means; strong performances and provocative social commentary abound. No, I ' m afraid it ' s far worse than that: I don ' t seem to entirely get it. Sigh. Then again, as I think back to another balmy morning later that same week in Toronto as I awaited another screening, a film buff from California who was making her maiden festival visit echoed my disappointment. Here ' s a lady who was a veteran frequenter of that Mecca of independent filmmaking, the Sundance Film Festival. Surely, she knew what she was talking about. Right? RIGHT?!

The critics have all but tripped over themselves, wet with excitement, as they all seem to be over this film. I'm willing to wager that no one is more surprised at all the drippy fawning over A History of Violence, than the filmmakers themselves. They've put out a decent, very watchable action flick, complete with an easy-on-the-eye, charismatic leading man, idealized family life, gory violence, cartoonish bad guys, and feats of impossible prowess. All well and good, but there's not a smidgen of transcendence in any of this - not in the concept, not in the writing, and not in the acting. As for the much vaunted "incisive commentary" on contemporary life, well, there's "bullies are nasty", "mobsters are nasty", "serial murderers are really nasty", and most unintentionally, "if you're a reformed-bad-guy-gone-into-hiding, best not to get your face in the papers". I'm not saying it isn't fun to watch, as the very hot Viggo Mortensen kick butt left and right, or the very ridiculous William Hurt channel Bill Shatner. I'm just saying that the frenzy of admiration over this movie is enough to make me wonder if we are in the midst of some grand experiment in mass hallucination.

I caught A History of Violence on Friday night, and I have to say I enjoyed this graphic and violent picture. The star is Viggo Mortenson, better known as the Mighty Aragon from the Lord of The Rings trilogy, he plays the role of family man Tom Stall whose life is turned upside down following a botched heist at his cafe. Tom has it all, decent family man, plush country pad in a sleepy village and his own small business. However, all this is threatened following the attempted robbery at his cafe.

This film is an 18 certificate, and with good reason, it is fairly violent in places and there are also a few sex scenes, one particularly being quite disturbing depending on how you perceive it. There is also the added bonus of seeing Maria Bello in the buff, which is another reason why this film is definitely not for kids. Bello plays Edie Stall the wife of Tom and she, in my opinion is a really good foil for Mortenson, more than matching his intensity in many a scene.

It would be unfair to write a review of this film and not mention the formidable Ed Harris. He was born to play the part of Philadelphia mobster Carl Foggarty, both deranged in personality and deformed in apperance. When trying to think of an adjective to describe Harris, the one that best springs to mind is simply menacing. The triple thronged attraction of Viggo, Bello and Harris is reason alone to check out this movie.

So where are the negatives I hear you cry? Well, in my humblest opinion, the first 2 thirds of this film are electric, however the final third seemed somewhat rushed and a little bit forced as it deterred away from the main plot. I know some other people also didn't 'get' the final scene, I did 'get it' and thought it was done well, however I may be in the minority there! There are also brief moments of comedy in this film that successfully got a laugh out of the audience to give the viewers a touch of light relief following all the doom and gloom.

I would certainly recommend this violent thriller, but remember it is at times very graphic, so I would only advise you to check it out if you've got the stomach for it!