“A History of Violence” – don’t let the name turn you off. This movie is as much about blood as it is about a family that stays together despite outrageous mayhem.
It opens as 2 men go to great lengths to avoid paying a motel bill and the plot escalates from there.
We meet an owner of a small diner, played by Viggo Mortensen, who comes to the aid of his employees when they are threatened by the 2 motel thugs and becomes something of a hero. His violent response is so quick, so natural and so effective, like second nature?
He becomes a local celebrity and his extreme action in self defense gains interest even outside of his small community. Some guys from out of town pop up to look him over, the accomplished actor Ed Harris is great as the leader, and insist on calling our hero by another name, which he denies, but, he gets this haunted look in his eyes. (Whenever I get to these “UhOh!” moments in any movie, the theme from “Jaws” starts to play softly in my head for a few seconds.)
So, who is he really? These sinister men, former “friends”, refuse to go home. Are they threatening him, are they threatening his wife, played by Maria Bello, and kids? What becomes clear is that our small town diner guy does not want to be found and does not want his family to know how he got his skills.
The family rallies around their dad, or rather they rally against those that want to take him away even though they’re not quite sure why – they want him to remain the man he is in their lives, not go back to whoever he was. As a father, he also wants to protect his family and the nice quiet life he has invented for himself.
Who is tracking him down and why? He closes the diner and takes a trip. He drives back East into his old life to erase it however he can, which is easier said than done. We are introduced to his evil, vengeful brother, played with much fun by William Hurt – and the battle is on.
After much chasing, fighting, and shooting, the father returns home to have breakfast with his family. No one asks where he’s been or why he looks like he’s been put thru a meat grinder. They just pass the eggs.
Written by Josh Olsen and directed by David Cronenberg, the cast is terrific. I enjoyed “A History of Violence”, 2005 (now on DVD) – good movie!