History of Violence

History of Violence DVD

Canadian director David Cronenberg whose impressive oeuvre includes such disparate works as THE DEAD ZONE THE FLY DEAD RINGERS M. BUTTERFLY and SPIDER has made what might be the best film of his career with A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Loosely based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke the movie stars Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall a quiet easygoing family man who runs a diner in a small Indiana town. But when two dangerous criminals come into the restaurant prepared to wreak havoc Stall turns hero and shoots them both. After Stall's story is blasted all over the media Philly mobster Carl Fogaty an excellent Ed Harris shows up claiming that Tom is actually former hit man Joey Cusack--and they've got some important business to finish. While Stall insists that Fogaty is mistaken his family--his wife Edie Maria Bello; teenage son Jack Ashton Holmes; and young daughter Sarah Heidi Hayes--gets dragged into the danger that constantly threatens to explode. Cronenberg whose films often deal with the fantastical the futuristic and the supernatural has done a masterly job creating a wholly believable modern world where evil lurks just around the corner. Howard Shore's tense moody music complements the outstanding acting in a violent powerful film that is not to be missed.