A History Of Violence

I just got back from a screening of A History Of Violence, starring Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello. They are both fantastic in this film. The stand out performance to me was William Hurt and he’s only in it for a short time. Man, was he funny! I am obviously a huge Viggo fan from his Lord of the Rings films and stuff, but I didn’t want to see this just to catch a glimpse of his naked poopshoot (although, I did see it. Jealous?). I heard good buzz on this film. I heard it was real gritty with the violence. I was bracing myself for some Monty Python’s Holy Grail type stuff with the lopping off of limbs and whatnot. But, director, David Cronenberg went for reality on this one. Not gore, just “Here’s what you get if you should decide to take a coffee pot to some guys face.” The violence isn’t the focus of the film, it’s a context for the great character work. This is a live by the severed carotid artery, die by the severed carotid artery kind of story. It’s about choices and how they effect us and our loved ones. I, for instance, have now decided to stay away from angering anyone associated with the mob. It’s just a personal pledge. I’m not telling you how to live. If you can stomach some dealing out death and some “oh, um, they don’t see me sitting right here. Oh, that’s private!” love making between, married, consenting, adults, then you will get to enjoy a powerful film by an exceptional group of filmmakers. I did NOT hate this movie (for fear of being wacked)!