Review: A History of Violence - Page 2

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• 1 - Shark

  Sep 25, 2005 at 8:30 am

  This is by far the best film of the year.
  
  NOTE:
  
  the original graphic novel was terrible; and screenwriter Josh Olson took the basic premise and improved it 110%.
  
  The grapic novel constitutes about the first 20 minutes of the film -- the balance is a brilliant, twisting-turning story that delivers on all levels.
  
  Oscar material, especially for screenwriter Olson and actor Bello.
  
  Don't miss it; opens widely this coming Friday.
  
  

• 2 - Shark

  Sep 30, 2005 at 11:48 am

  Opens today everywhere. GO SEE IT!
  

• 3 - Temple Stark

  Oct 03, 2005 at 5:47 pm

  This was chosen as an Editor's Pick this week by your humble Video / TV Editor Joan Hunt. Go HERE to find out why and grab a nifty graphic button to put on your own site.

• 4 - Shark

  Oct 03, 2005 at 6:08 pm

  Great movie; I saw it twice this weekend; the theater was packed, the audience loved it, and I'm surprised there aren't more comments on this thread.
  

• 5 - Natalie Davis

  Oct 03, 2005 at 7:44 pm

  Goddess, what an excellent piece of cinema... Saw it earlier today... still wondering what was showing in Maria Bello's eyes when she finally raised her face to look at her spouse. Her work was amazing; you could see on her face her contradictory reactions to her mate's newly discovered talents. And Viggo Mortensen was so believable as two-two-two men in one. I would like to see both actors win nominations for their roles (although Viggo would not be interested in anything remotely Oscar-related, which is more reason to admire him).
  
  William Hurt, a longtime favorite of mine, didn't excite me. His portrayal of Richie was a hoot -- indeed he would have been great in a Lynch film -- but his cameo struck me as being ill-fitting for this offering.
  
  Haven't been able to see many films this year, but A History of Violence, even with its flaws, is the best of those I have seen -- and a great reminder that violence begets only violence.

• 6 - Shark

  Oct 04, 2005 at 5:56 am

  Natalie, great observations.
  
  I think Maria Bello and Viggo should both get Oscars, but their work is so subtle and understated that I doubt they'll even be nominated.
  
  --- SPOILER ALERT ---
  
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  Natalie,
  
  re: the final scene:
  
  Jeesus, I think it's one of the most powerful scenes in recent film history -- and the symbolism is beautiful.
  
  Of course, the innocent, non-judgemental "child" welcomes him home: the youngest by putting the plate on the table (although the utensils are BACKWARDS, showing that everything is not right); and the teenaged son responds positively by handing him the food.
  
  I think the beauty of the final scene is that THERE IS NO definitive look in Bello's eyes.
  
  They are in limbo. Where do they go from here? Is he one man or two? Which one is he -- really? And once 'violence' begats violence, how does it end? WILL IT END?
  
  Who knows? Maria Bello darn sure doesn't.
  
  Wow. What a masterpiece.
  
  (After the film, wife and I were discussing Bello's face in that final scene, and the wife said, "whatever happens, you know that this family has some work to do..."
  
  I thought that was pretty good.)
  
  ===
  
  re. William Hurt -- I thought the guy was awesome; (ditto for Ed Harris!)
  
  HURT only had about five minutes on screen, but he came across with a subtle, but powerful touch of insanity; his voice, mannerisms, body language, etc. were a total package that was incredibly ECONOMIC -- as a matter of fact, one reason I saw the movie a second time was to watch Hurt do his thing again -- and I must say, the second viewing only confirmed my impressions about his virtuosity.
  
  btw: I'm trying not to exaggerate here, but I think Viggo's subtle FACE transformation in the front yard scene was one of the greatest moments in film history.
  
  Seriously. Watch Viggo from the time he leaves the house till he hugs his son at the end of that scene: one of the greatest WORDLESS acting jobs in history.
  
  BTW: I believe this film is MUCH deeper than a lot of people and critics are giving it credit for being.
  
  =====
  
  Oh, and I must add that this film is also VERY FUNNY: the first audience I saw it with "got it" most of the time; the second time I saw it, I think the audience was in shock most of the time and didn't catch many of the hilarious lines.
  

• 7 - Shark

  Oct 04, 2005 at 2:40 pm

  * chirp chirp *
  
  C'mon, anybody else seen this great film?!
  
  

• 8 - Shaun

  Oct 15, 2005 at 4:08 am

  Are you really that terrible a reviewer? That was the WORST movie I have seen since the Pallbearer with G. paltrow. I don't know HOW the critics got fooled on this one, but I laughed every 10 minutes and this was NO comedy! TERRIBLE!!!!!!