A History of Violence is a disappointing film — the biggest letdown of the fall season, in fact — but I didn't really want to write about it. David Cronenberg's name will always get me into the theater, and the actors, particularly Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello, are clearly going on to better things, so why dwell on this misfire? But, I've now had several people react as though I've spoken sacrilege, even when they can't mount a good defense of the picture, so let me shout it across the Internet: A History of Violence is just Shane with a few more plot twists and a couple of wickedly intense sex scenes.
If you don't want to read spoilers, better bail now.
Just as the hero of Shane was a former gunslinger who wanted to live down his past and lead a normal life with a decent family, so is Tom Stall (Mortensen), a former contract-killer trying to keep his head down and be a good small-town family man. When a couple of spree-killers invade his diner, however, Tom is forced to use his lethal skills, and his heroism turns him into a regional celebrity. Soon, a Philadelphia gangster (Ed Harris) with a scarred face and a brace of plug-uglies turns up to reminisce about the old days, forcing an even bloodier exhibition of Tom's deadly know-how. Just as Shane had to strap on his shooting irons one last time, so must Tom head back to Philly and face down the past in order to protect his family — even if that family feels betrayed and wants nothing more to do with him.
To work at all, A History of Violence must keep us wondering and worrying about Tom from the first minute to the last. Why did he renounce his old life, and how far beneath the surface has his old identity really gone? Can a man really turn his back on a lifetime of evil? What do his loved ones owe him, when they discover that their very existence is based on lies? The seriousness of the film's tone, and Howard Shore's elegiac music, herald something deeper and more probing than standard action-film fare, which treats violence as a one-size-fits-all solution devoid of consequences. The weak script by Josh Olsen (taken from a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, who may share the blame) offers clichés instead of questions, and manipulation rather than exploration.
Article comments
1 - demabloggery
I felt the disappointment too...it could have been a great film, instead of a moderately entertaining okay film...I enjoyed the pace, I thought it was acted well, but I couldn't get around the simple fact that the whole mystery was whether he was joey or not...and when that was given away what was left? This is the best review I have read of that movie.