Film Review: "A History of Violence" (2005)

Filmed in Ontario by Canuck director David Cronenberg, this flick stars Viggo Mortensen, William Hurt and Ed Harris. Mortensen, who owns a greasy spoon in small-town middle America, thwarts a robbery in heroic fashion and makes headlines all across America for doing so. However, before long, Mortensen's new-found fame brings serious consquences for his family as Harris, a big-city crime boss from Philly, shows up and alleges that Mortensen has a past that doesn't fit with the idyllic, Rockwellian life that he seemingly lives. Much upheaval ensues.

"A History of Violence" has a lot going for it. First of all, I think Mortensen should have definitely been nominated for an Oscar for his work in this role. (Hurt, although he was nominated in the best supporting actor category, only appears for about 10 minutes.) Harris, as always, is great, and the rest of the cast is very strong as well.

The film is extremely well-shot but if you are uncomfortable with graphic violence and blood, I wouldn't recommend it. It's not over the top, but it gets grisly at times. (Personally, I loved it, but then again, I supported the Iraq war, so what else would you expect from a bloodhound like me?)

I would also suggest not watching this with your parents or in-laws because there are some pretty intense sex scenes. (I almost ended up having my wife's parents stay for dinner last night after which we would have popped in the DVD. Good thing they didn't end up sticking around!)

The final upside of this flick is its length. Clocking in at a tidy 95 minutes, you have no excuse to fall asleep on the couch while it's playing.

All told, I highly recommend.

Overall rating: 9/10