Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Stephen McHattie, Peter MacNeill

Director: David Cronenberg

Summary: An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father (Viggo Mortensen) commits a seemingly self-defence murder at his diner.

Canadian director David Cronenberg, whose impressive oeuvre includes such disparate works as THE DEAD ZONE, THE FLY, DEAD RINGERS, M. BUTTERFLY, and SPIDER, has made what might be the best film of his career with A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Loosely based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, the movie stars Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall, a quiet, easygoing family man who runs a diner in a small Indiana town. But when two dangerous criminals come into the restaurant prepared to wreak havoc, Stall turns hero and shoots them both. After Stall's story is blasted all over the media, Philly mobster Carl Fogaty (an excellent Ed Harris) shows up, claiming that Tom is actually former hit man Eddie Cusack and they've got some important business to finish. While Stall insists that Fogaty is mistaken, his family his wife, Edie (Maria Bello); teenage son, Jack (Ashton Holmes); and young daughter, Sarah (Heidi Hayes) get dragged into the danger that constantly threatens to explode. Cronenberg, whose films often deal with the fantastical, the futuristic, and the supernatural, has done a masterly job creating a wholly believable modern world where evil lurks just around the corner. Howard Shore's tense, moody music complements the outstanding acting in a violent, powerful film that is not to be missed.

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Reviewed by: davybozal24-7
Posted on March 22, 2006 11:41 PM

Viggo Mortensen gives an excellent performance , as main character Tom Stall , in this dramatic David Cronenberg movie .
Tom is busy living a happy and quiet life with his wife and two children in small - town Indiana , but one night their idyllic existence is shattered when Tom foils a vicious attempted robbery in his diner.
Sensing danger , he takes action and saves his customers ( and friends ) in the self - defence killings of two sought after criminals .
Tom is immediately heralded as a hero but is obviously uncomfortable with his new found celebrity . Has Tom a history of violence ?.

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On the surface, David Cronenberg may seem an unlikely candidate to direct A History of Violence, but dig deeper and you'll see that he's the right man for the job. As an intellectual seeker of meaning and an avowed believer in Darwinian survival of the fittest, Cronenberg knows that the story of mild-mannered small-town diner proprietor Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is in fact a multilayered examination of inbred human behavior, beginning when Tom's skillful killing of two would-be robbers draws unwanted attention to his idyllic family life in rural Indiana. He's got a loving wife (Maria Bello) and young daughter (Heidi Hayes) who are about to learn things about Tom they hadn't suspected, and a teenage son (Ashton Holmes) who has inherited his father's most prominent survival trait, manifesting itself in ways he never expected. By the time Tom has come into contact with a scarred villain (Ed Harris) and connections that lead him to a half-crazy kingpin (William ! Hurt, in a spectacular cameo), Cronenberg has plumbed the dark depths of human nature so skillfully that A History of Violence stands well above the graphic novel that inspired it (indeed, Cronenberg was unaware of the source material behind Josh Olson's chilling adaptation). With hard-hitting violence that's as sudden as it is graphically authentic, this is A History of Violence that's worthy of serious study and widespread acclaim. --Jeff Shannon

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Acts Of Violence, Scene 44 Deleted Scene, The Unmaking Of Scene 44, Violences History United Sates Version Vs International Version, Too Commercial For Cannes, Feature Commentary With David Cronenberg, Theatrical Trailer
Year:	2005
Release Date:	March 20, 2006
Runtime:	96 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	E D V 9372
Keywords:	Violence, General, History, Drama
Genre:	Drama