Review of A History of Violence (2005) by Hung-Ya L — 21 May 2016
Seeing as he's mostly known for his body horror genre, David Cronenberg's A History of Violence really stands out among his filmography. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely not his strongest outing.
Like every Cronenberg film, there's a lot of interesting themes at play here: among the themes in this case is a fascinating analysis of violence. It's a gripping idea at times, but at other times, it gets lost and muddled in a story that might be just a tad too complex.
This is a film that is focused mostly on character, which is never truly a bad thing, but the actual plot sometimes suffers due to the lack of focus in that regard. The film also features a twist that is kind of hit-or-miss for this story: it never actually brings the movie down in any way, but this story could easily be told the same way, perhaps even better, without it.
The acting here is definitely the highlight though: Viggo Mortensen's performance and the way he balances a wide spectrum of emotion really keeps the film afloat, while Maria Bello and William Hurt complement his character very well in very differing ways.
This is a mostly fascinating character study that, in spite of some noticeable plot flaws, is a truly thought-provoking experience.
This review of A History of Violence (2005) was written by Hung-Ya L on 21 May 2016.
A History of Violence has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
