History of Violence [Blu-ray] [2009] [Region Free] [US Import]

Every now and again, though alas far too rarely, you see a film that is so much better than almost anything else on offer, so much richer, truer, with all concerned - director, writer, actors - in tune with what the film is trying to achieve, that as you leave the cinema or turn off the TV, you feel like cheering.This is one of those special films.Amazon`s description, above, as well as my fellow reviewers, have outlined the plot so I won`t dwell too much on it here. What I do wish to dwell on are the terrific performances of the actors, Cronenburg`s superb direction, and a screenplay which, for an American film, refuses to insult the intelligence.Viggo Mortensen, after many compelling roles in often excellent films, and after his three recent parts for Cronenburg and his astonishing work in The Road, has become one of America`s finest actors. Not only that, he is (for me, at least) a timely corrective to the many `boy-man` stars that infest Hollywood these days, whether of the Sandler/Rogan type or the Di Caprio/Damon/Depp kind. I`ve enjoyed all three of the latter group in many roles, but too often they are asked to play men and are only able to look like boy pretenders - and Depp has been phoning in too many performances in recent years, usually in pirate costume. One longs for Viggo, Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Vincent D`Onofrio...anyone who can play a real, living breathing man!Viggo, all guileless passivity to begin with, plays the Man With a Past subtly and with just enough bubbling away beneath the surface to intrigue. When, quite early in the film, he is required to defend himself (and a potential rape victim) in the diner he runs, his abruptly efficient dispatching of the two louts who are threatening the woman, himself, and his `new` life is breathtaking in its ruthless, neat proficiency. This man with his hawkish but gentle face doesn`t look like a man who could kill so easily, with such precise finality. Viggo convinces us of this man`s present good-citizen gentleness, as well as his potential for professional and swift reprisal.Maria Bello plays his wife. She reminds me not a little of another favourite actressof mine, Diane Lane (who is a similar age) and is new to me. No longer, I`m very glad to say. She`s note-perfect as Viggo`s feisty, sexy wife, and shares two wonderfully played and directed sexual encounters with her husband, one dressed in her old cheerleader`s outfit - which may require pausing the DVD player to take a cold shower - and the other halfway up a flight of stairs, in a scene so ambiguous and motivationally ambivalent as to be tough to watch. The wit, not to mention sure touch, with which Cronenburg invests both scenes saves them both from being merely token `sex scenes`. All through this terrific film, Bello matches Viggo moment for moment. I can`t imagine why this actress is not better known.Ed Harris and William Hurt both have smaller, though pivotal, roles in the drama and both are as brilliant as you`d expect them to be. In fact, it must be said that Hurt gets the chance to chew the scenery to some extent, which he does with evident relish.The title - A History Of Violence - is poignantly, tellingly ironic in its extended meanings. For this is not simply a story of a man with `a history of violence` but a parable of modern America, with its history/histories of violence. It is a film which will repay many viewings, for the steady, unshowy direction - Cronenburg is surely now an American master - and a slew of beautifully modulated performances, led by Viggo and Maria Bello as a sexily happy couple whose world suddenly falls apart. It`s all portrayed with the inevitablity of classical tragedy.Certainly, a great American movie, if not - as my review`s title implies - THE Great American Movie...?

How's this for generic? - A normal all-American man with a beautiful wife, troubled teenage son and a sweet young daughter. His name is Tom Stall. One day his life takes a turn for the worse when mysterious armed men try to rob his small-town diner and Tom becomes an American hero by killing the two men and saving his customers. Such is the beginning of 'A History of Violence'.What makes this film stand out and avoid the potentially cliched material from which it is made is that this time the story is being told through a more honest lens. Each and every major character in the movie is drawn with a great deal of psychological complexity, the script and direction are incredible and lend a dark thematic exploration to the film which is so rarely seen in mainstream cinema. And of course there's Viggo Mortensen.Tom Stall is the main protagonist of the film, but despite the claims of the news reporters who throng around him after he stops the robbery this man is no hero. Stall doesn't get painted as the two dimensional John Wayne role that he would normally be, instead he's someone deeply disturbed by what he's done and who's main concern is to try and forget the incident. When questions are raised over his identity and ability to kill (a nice touch being that the film acknowledges the unlikeliness of an everyday man being able to do what a movie character is able to) Mortensen's incredible performance leaves you genuinely unsure as to his past whilst remaining so likable and human that you feel guilty for doubting him. Never has a protagonist so conflicted an audience whilst simultaneously they've been rooting for him. Mortensen's overlooking for an academy award was a travesty.This is a movie about violence. Not just a film which features violence but one which explores the nature of violence and questions it's portrayal in films. Cronenburg is far from alien to dealing with the theme of mutation in his films, but here that mutation is mental rather than physical with it slowly infecting every aspect of the family's life from the son's behavior in school to the sex life of Tom and his wife (a fantastic Maria Bello). The final scene of this film is a heart-rending piece of nihilism which is as much a comment on the audience as it is on the characters.This is a graphic film. It is really worth noting that if you have problems with explicit violence or sex in films this might well be worth avoiding. There are two sex scenes in this films, both have a definite and necessary purpose within the film and it would be worse off without them so I don't consider them gratuitous, but they are fairly graphic. The violence here is brutal, realistic and utterly disgusting since it refuses to shy from the pain or tragedy of what most films would glorify or styilise for the sake of inoffensiveness. It's a rare film that can make you feel disgusted and pained at the death of a serial killing psychopath.This film scares, provokes, challenges, and actively attacks the veiws of it's audience. It keeps you involved and captivated for all of it's deceptively brief run-time. It's ugly yet beautiful, thrilling but disgusting, it's compelling whilst it's repulsive. This is one of the smartest, best acted, best directed, best written films I've ever seen and it's power to move and challenge it's audience is almost unparalleled in films this entertaining. It's an action western starring a Lord of the Rings star that questions the popularity of good-looking killers in movies - How's that for unique?