Review of A History of Violence (2005) by Craig T — 21 Jan 2011

David Cronenberg has always made strange and often misunderstood pictures. From the creepy depths of The Fly and Dead Ringers to this, his most mainstream effort to date. He is a gifted director and is one of my personal favorites. I can count on him to challenge me and show me transformations of a unique kind. In A History of Violence, he gives much trust to Viggo Mortensen as the complex father with a possible dark past. That trust is met with shattering impact. Mortensen has made a new name for himself in this film and has never been better. The supporting cast, including a standout role for Maria Bello, are to be praised as well. Ed Harris and William Hurt fit right into their criminal roles as if they walked right off the violent streets onto the movie set.

The scale and pace of the film is naturally calm and then when the tides turn and the storm moves in, we have powerful forces of nature combating on common ground. The violence in not glorified but is as potent as anything you have ever seen. This is truly a film to behold, it radiates with an expert screenplay, and the pulse pounding shoot outs must be experienced. It is a raw style of film making done by surprising us with depth and themes. This is perhaps the first Cronenberg masterpiece- as well as Mortensen's best performance to date. This would easily be in my Top 100 Films List and is definately my favorite film of 2005. (A+).