David Cronenberg's film is essentially a meditation on the American propensity for violence beneath even the most placid surfaces of society, served up with a stylistic mix of genres: part domestic drama, part coming-of-age tale, part Western parody, and part gangster send-up. Family man Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen), owner of a small-town Indiana diner, becomes an unlikely national hero when he dispatches two brutal killers who threaten his customers and staff. Afterwards, he's visited by a big-city gangster (Ed Harris) who's sure Tom's the thug who once disfigured him, and eventually Tom must travel to Pennsylvania to confront a mob chief (Oscar-nominee William Hurt) to settle matters. This narrative plays out like a modern take on the old plot about the retired gunfighter forced to take up arms again, but it's given a bizarre charge by Harris and Hurt, who offer wild, wonderful caricatures of genre stereotypes. Meanwhile, the domestic side of things (staged with a gnawing sense of suspense that's almost Hitchcockian) is explored in the transformation of Tom's son, whose reaction to bullying at school raises the old issue of nature vs. nurture in behavioral motivations. Cronenberg infuses the movie with a genuine sense of menace, but one shot through with shards of bleak black comedy, juxtaposing sequences of stunning brutality with others that are very close to slapstick. A film that is at once profound and hilarious, serious and absurd, A History of Violence—which received a second Oscar nomination for its screenplay—was one of 2005's best films. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director David Cronenberg, the 67-minute “making-of” documentary “Acts of Violence,” a “Too Commercial for Cannes” video diary of the films showing at the Cannes Film Festival (9 min.), “The Unmaking of Scene 44” on creating the scene (4 min.), the “Scene 44” deleted scene with optional commentary (3 min.), “Violence History: United States Version vs. International Version” (2 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for one of 2005's most acclaimed films.] (F. Swietek)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 3, 2009—New Line, 96 min., R, $28.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2005's A History of Violence sports a fine transfer with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are identical to those on the standard DVD release, including audio commentary by director David Cronenberg, the 67-minute “making-of” documentary “Acts of Violence,” a “Too Commercial for Cannes” video diary of the film's showing at the Cannes Film Festival (9 min.), “The Unmaking of Scene 44” on creating the scene (4 min.), the “Scene 44” deleted scene with optional commentary (3 min.), “Violence History: United States Version vs. International Version” (2 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: one of 2005's best films looks good in Blu.]
A History of Violence
New Line, 95 min., R, VHS: $59.99, DVD: $28.99, Mar. 14 Volume 21, Issue 2
A History of Violence
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