Susan Granger’s review of “History of Violence” (New Line Cinema)
Perhaps people are not who they seem. Or are they? That’s the perplexing question propelling this tantalizing thriller that examines what lurks beneath the superficial veneer of identity.
Mild-mannered Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) owns and operates a neighborhood diner in Millbrook, Indiana. He’s passionately devoted to his sexy wife (Maria Bello), sensitive teenage son (Ashton Holmes) and young daughter (Heidi Hayes). All’s well with this idyllic all-American family until, one day, he’s unexpectedly threatened and forced to act violently to save his life and others. To the rural townspeople, he’s a reluctant hero but, to others, particularly some hoodlums from Philadelphia (Ed Harris, William Hurt), he’s the long-lost member of a local crime family who has now reverted to type. While the local sheriff suspects that things aren’t adding up right, violence inevitably begets violence as catastrophic repercussions erupt with their own, inevitable consequences. To reveal more of the convoluted “wrong man” plot would spoil its surprises.
No stranger to controversy, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg (“Dead Ringers,” “Naked Lunch,” “Spider,” “Crash”) goes more mainstream this time ’round. Based on John Wagner and Vince Locke’s graphic vigilante novel, Josh Olson’s script rises far above its simplistic roots, examining the philosophical, even genetic, nature of violence. Charismatic Viggo Mortensen reveals chilling and complex depth, while Bello, Harris and Hurt turn in memorable supporting performances. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “A History of Violence” is a subversive, subtle 8, making one question whether perception is reality or a myth. Or as Tom Stall tells his daughter: “There’s no such thing as monsters. You were just having a bad dream.”
