A History of Violence
#58 in my movie challenge for the year, A History of Violence, with Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello, and directed by David Cronenberg, was a strong, provocative film. The performances were across-the-board great. The film was not rushed even though it had a short running time; the story unspooled deliberately and economically. Based on a graphic novel, it tells the story of a man whose life is interrupted by violence, and who may have had a violent past. It questions whether violence can remain in the past. It is an interesting film to consider alongside I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, a film I watched earlier this year. There were some interesting similarities and differences between the two.
December 16th, 2005 at 1:36 pm
i found the sex scenes in this movie almost pornographic.
and i found the difference between the “two” viggo characters so wide it was not necessarily believable. also didn’t believe w. hurt as his brother.
but then i had forgotten it was cronenberg going in. if i had remembered that, none of that would have surprised me.
December 21st, 2005 at 5:18 pm
I found the sex scenes pretty jaw-dropping as well, though the “p” word is controversial. They were very realistic depictions without being technically graphic, and were certainly not the type of scene that’s usually shown in film. In the second scene, which is very complex, I was reminded why I don’t love the $2 theater–people were talking and laughing. Talking and laughing! I was reminded of my 9th grade health teacher, who had a very dry humor. When he showed our class the sex-ed movie he remarked, “Anyone who wishes to show their immaturity and inability to handle the material may laugh and talk.” The class was completely silent for the whole thing, even the smart alecks and jocks.
I could buy the difference in the viggo characters, because it was bridged by what came after. I did like it when he relapsed into a philly accent. I didn’t like W. Hurt as the bro, either–too mannered, too weird.
I’ve not seen Cronenberg before, since his previous stuff looked too out there for my taste.