Review of A History of Violence (2005) by Diego T — 17 Feb 2014

I've always thought that Viggo Mortensen was a good actor, despite his inability to pick good movies to be in (Hidalgo? I laugh). Well, he's finally done it. A History of Violence, directed by David Cronenberg, is one of the most dramatically powerful, wholly satisfying films I've ever seen, and allows me to cross another movie off of my List of Shame (movies I haven't seen yet but really should have). This movie works on nearly every level-- as a dramatic character study, as a thriller, as a mystery, and as a Breaking Bad-style study of a man who will do whatever it takes. It's quite enthralling.

A History of Violence stars Mortensen as Tom Stall, a small-town coffee shop owner whose shop is robbed one night. When he acts in the spur of the moment to defend his customers and his employees, the result is two dead robbers and his picture in the paper. Recognized as a local hero, he does more business than ever... until a group of mobsters from Philadelphia show up, calling him by a different name and insisting that he return to Philly with them, as he used to work for them and is now hiding out under a completely different identity. This is a great, original premise, even though the viewer can pretty much predict the outcome of the mystery in a few seconds. I mean, no spoilers, but... we wouldn't have a movie here if it weren't true. Okay, sure, spoilers. Sue me. But come on, you really couldn't figure this out from the title? Please.

Mortensen is a total chameleon as Stall, transforming the character from a milktoast, boring, and simple guy running a small business into a cold-blooded killer by the end of the movie (oh, the spoilers just keep coming!). Although the film ends in a way that you never could have seen coming just judging from the beginning, there is no massive tonal shift along the way, and the ingenious way in which Cronenberg seamlessly moves from a small-town mystery to a full-on gangster drama is masterful. You won't even notice it if you don't look. Meanwhile, Ed Harris is a welcome co-star as the mob boss hunting Tom down, and Maria Bello delivers an unexpectedly strong performance as his conflicted and confused wife. Ashton Holmes (AKA That Guy Who Has Never Made Another Good Movie) is pretty lame as Tom's son, but I can forgive that, as he's not in the movie very much.

This film strikes me as the kind of thing that directors like Paul Thomas Anderson or Nicolas Winding Refn are trying to do, as it makes similar stylistic choices in terms of surreal conversations and cinematography. It also features a main character who is (and Cutler will kill me for saying this) similar to Ryan Gosling's character in Drive, who also was a man of few words and led a double life. But what makes A History of Violence work is that it has characters we care about, a plot that is actually coherent, and some truly chill-inducing lines of dialogue that add up to a seriously suspenseful and hair-raising suspense drama that will have you on the edge of your seat. No, it's not exactly an action-packed thrill ride, but for those who are willing to suspend their disbelief about a man who can keep his history with the mob secret for 16+ years while getting married, having kids, and running a coffee shop... it'll be quite a powerful film.

Final Score for A History of Violence: 8/10 stars. After I watched Thor: The Dark Anus of the World, I watched this, and trust me-- it was the perfect antidote. I wish that all movies were like this, but I suppose that if they were, movies like A History of Violence wouldn't seem all too special. At the end of the day, it does its job and does it very well. And I find it unfortunate that such straightforward competence is now so unusual in movies that I was so blown away by this. That says a lot more about the state of filmmaking today than it does about this movie.