History of Violence, A

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"A History of Violence" begins with a long, continuous shot that sets the mood and tone for the rest of the film. There is a subtle manipulation that starts when two men emerge from a motel somewhere in the vastness of Middle America. The men speak in terse beats that are incensed with a subtextual malaise that resonates through the scene. When one of the men enters the motel office; there is sense that something isn´t right and when the second later enters the motel, that sense is reaffirmed by the gruesome and intimate aftermath depicted. The rest of the film echoes this notion of violent pregnancy; the impending carnage and that the men deserve to die.

Before they can get their comeuppance, director David Cronenberg introduces us to Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) and his happy small town life. Norman Rockwell would be proud of the kind of gee whiz simplicity of the town in which Tom owns and runs a small diner, where he lives with his lawyer wife Edie (Maria Bello) and their two children. However, their quaint little existence is torn apart when Tom stops the two men from the beginning of the film from robbing the diner. The action is brutal, fast and sloppy but in many ways it gives the audience what they expect (want) for the two nefarious fellows.

Tom is touted as a hero and is bombarded by a media circus that makes him very uncomfortable. He´s thrust into the spotlight despite trying to return to his normal, everyday existence. Soon after, Tom is confronted by mobster Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris), who has seen Tom on the news and believes Tom is an old enemy named Joey Cusack. To say the least, Tom´s idyllic existence is compromised by the violent act of heroism in the diner.

With "A History of Violence", Cronenberg has created one of his most accessible films. In a running time that is a little over 90 minutes, the film uncoils in a gleefully subversive manner towards what seems like the set up for modern take on a western/ revenge/ retribution dynamic. What we´re actually given is a compelling examination of the implications of violence. The title alone works on a number of levels, acting as a thoughtful lamentation on the idea of violence and its place in American culture. However, it is also a fitting nod to Tom´s character and the complex nature of his being that is unknown to his family and friends.

(Spoiler) Much like the film, Mortensen delivers a performance that is laced with subtle dissidence. Tom (or is it Joey?) is forced to examine his life in the wake of the violence he has unwillingly caused. Mortensen deftly handles the various sides to Tom in a brilliant and unflinching manner that you almost believe that Tom is really who he believes he is. (End Spoiler)

Through the course of the story, Tom and his family battle against this case of supposed mistaken identity. Bello and Ashton Holmes, who plays Tom´s son Jack, effectively portray the uncertain grief and confusion that follow in the wake of Tom´s heroism in the diner. As the film takes turns for the worse, so do their ideas about Tom and who this man, that they call father and husband, really is. They struggle to cope with their changing reality, almost as much as Tom does; even more so when they are forced to confront their relationships with each other and the divisive issues which surface as a result.

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