A History of Violence (2005)

Living a very quiet life in a remote small Indiana town where everyone seems to know each other, Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is introduced as a family man who seems comfortable of the kind of life he is having. He runs a diner. He has a lovely and caring wife (Edie) and children (Jack and Sarah). And aside from the elder sibling struggling to stand up to the bully in school, the Stall family typifies a perfect family. But this being Cronenberg’s movie, the characters’ lives are expected to get very, very topsy-turvy.

The working time about to end in one of the mundane daylight hours at the diners, two armed men forced entry attempting to rob the diner. In an effort to salvage the innocent souls present at that time, Tom demonstrates impressive self-defense skills that not one in his family thinks he can do. He can’t even hurt a fly his family knows that. But Tom starts a fight and manages kill the two armed men.

That brave deed brings about attention from the local news hailing Tom as a hero. Wary of attention, Tom sloughs off the incident. But the incident catches the attention of people Tom detests that mysterious men led by Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) begin to surface saying supposed things about Tom’s past and that his real name is Joey Cusack. It marks the start of jumble in the Stall’s family, which upsets Tom and on the other hand overjoys the audience.

While his wife including everyone else begins to question his real identify, Tom has to do something to protect his liberty and family’s privacy and safety employing brutal means of violence.

Full of brutal but responsible violence and a little sex, the movie examines the interesting innate human behavior and instinct. It discusses the nature of violence and its impact on society, family and human life. On a different perspective it talks about lies, secrets and personal liberty.

The movie showcases top caliber acting from Viggo Mortensen who is perfect for the role, Ed Harris, Heidi Hayes (Sarah Stall), and the most-notable William Hurt who takes the very short role of Richie Cusack’s character.

As with any David Cronenberg’s movie, this is highly recommended.

© 2006 Jonathan Susvilla