Review of A History of Violence (2005) by Marco F — 21 May 2010
I loved the concept of the movie even before watching it, so nothing could go wrong for me, I was expecting a nice intriguing thriller, but this goes way beyond being a fantastic thriller. A History of Violence is an in depth analysis of how violence affects us.
The movie starts out by introducing us to the Stall family, a pitch perfect American family. The father, Tom (Viggo Mortensen) works at a restaurant and during one night he's been threatened by two gangsters, that he eliminates coldly. He's considered a local hero by the media and his town and soon he's being visited by a gangster called Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris). Fogarty is sure that Tom isn't the man he's and that he carries a long history of violence behind him and by doing so he's threatens Tom's marriage with his wife Edie (Maria Bello).
The movie's main strength is its actors. Mortensen switches personality very quickly, Bello is a strong mother, Ed Harris looks very creepy and William Hurt just steals the show as this Irish mob boss. David Cronenberg's direction is top-notch, the violence is brutal and bloody, the humor is sadisticly funny and overall the plot moves perfectly. Howard Shore's score also adds a nice touch to this movie.
This review of A History of Violence (2005) was written by Marco F on 21 May 2010.
A History of Violence has generally received very positive reviews.
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