Review of A History of Violence (2005) by Zanele J — 02 Jan 2013
Tom Spall (Viggo Mortensenn) is our protagonist, lives in a Utopian small town where he is a diner owner, he is very kind and gentle man, and he keeps his face down. After one of the nightmarish errand, a pair of evil robbers realize they are financially broke, and to repose, they decide to pick on a local diner, the one owned by Tom.
Realizing the stick up, Tom is ready to surrender the little cash he has in his register, but the bad guys, in a bid to strike terror into the diner's staff and patrons, decide to rape one of the waitress who was on her way out. Tom, by some form of muscle memory, acrobatically fights and kills the bad guys although he sustains an injury. Tom is a considered a hero and is all over the news.
After recovery from hospital, he is visited by a mean looking crew in his diner who seem to mistaken him for a Joey Cusack, hinting that Tom may have a past he has buried and does not want it known.
The family is troubled by the new found attention, the unsightly gang is terrorizing his family until Tom realize his family is disintegrating, even the enlisting of the local deputy does not seem to help the matter, he decides to confronts his past with a view of laying it to rest.
This movie is startling from the first scene to the last, nothing can prepare anyone in the audience for what is to follow, as a result the story unfolds with perfect ease, and we disappear in it.
Edie (Maria Bello) helps the story a lot, she is Tom's darling wife, but as soon as the story of Joey Cusack starts gaining momentum and as the trusted the deputy realizes that the gang is not the kind that is familiar with making mistakes, sternly warns the Spalls, she starts to believe a little and is scared to hell for her family and her sense of security.
The fight sequences are fairly original, makes one think where he learned all this, he can effortlessly incapacitate his opponent in a few strokes, and he normally fights several opponents at a time, his son takes after him, and he gets worried sick when his son is involved in a fight.
The cast is heavy and the direction is spellbinding.
This review of A History of Violence (2005) was written by Zanele J on 02 Jan 2013.
A History of Violence has generally received very positive reviews.
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