An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.
Probably Cronenberg's most mundane work, but that's not even remotely a knock against A History of Violence. I hear tell that fans of the comic don't much like this big screen re-telling, but I've never read it, so I'm gonna go ahead and really enjoy it anyway.
Final rating:½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time.
We start with images of two rather brutal hoodlums who have robbed and massacred the staff at a roadside motel and then sort of follow them into a town where "Tom" (Viggo Mortensen) runs the diner. They stop by one afternoon, intent on causing a bit of mayhem, only to discover that their host is a bit more capable of defending himself than they'd anticipated. Quickly "Tom" is lauded as an hero, and wife "Edie" (Maria Bello) and kids "Jack" (Ashton Holmes) and "Sarah" (Heidi Hayes) are proud to have their dad at home. What he hadn't anticipated, though, is that the publicity would attract the attention of one-eyed gangster "Fogarty" (Ed Harris) who arrives and starts calling him "Joey". Who's "Joey"? Well we quickly find out that nothing is ...
When a peaceable family man is backed against a wall
Shot in the late summer/early fall of 2004, this was described by director Cronenberg as a meditation on the human body and its relationship to violence. It comes in the tradition of Straw Dogs, addressing the same issues as Billy Jack; namely, absolute pacifism vs limited pacifism. The former never resorts to violence, even in the face of great evil, whereas the latter strives for peace, but turns to violence when justified. The New Testament supports limited pacifism not absolute pacifism, as some mistakenly think (see Luke 12:39, for instance).
Yet theres more going on as the film explores overcoming a troubled past for a new identity while tapping into the primal self if n...