By: JWBM
How much time can go by until the realization sets in that you don't really know someone? Most of us are on our best behavior due to following similar routines and habits. It isn't until a situation falls outside of a person's comfort zone that you notice something unusual that may have been hiding there all along. Getting to know how someone acts is knowing their routines; knowing how someone reacts is knowing the inner person.
Stories such as "Deliverance," for instance, dealt not just with the wild perils of nature, but about bringing out a side of ourselves that we never knew was there if not for a dire set of circumstances that tested our limits and boundaries. "A History of Violence," as the namesake suggests, is an evolution of our complex behavior as human beings with an everyday man who's established the perfect family life for himself—right down to the locally owned diner, and station wagon—until that's threatened to be taken away when backed into a corner. Other movies have scraped the surface of our protective nature as an excuse to get the action going—though this film slowly digs its claws in with more of a subtle look at our subdued primal instincts in the modern day. We're used to seeing animals act out what's natural without batting an eye, but what happens when those things called rules, laws, and safe-guards are taken away from a small town family living the simple life?
The tone has a dark and violent side when it calls for it, though the pacing is played out with more of a slow burn than a non-stop visceral attack on the senses. For instance, the opening scene is a continuous shot that reminds me of some of Takeshi Kitano films, in how the camera rolls uncut and we're left to read the what-just-happened, what's-gonna-happen on our characters' faces. The story gives a simple build up, and then some layers are intertwined for character development concerning the growing tension amongst this howdy-good-morning family from small town middle of nowhere. This leaves room for the characters to naturally react to the situations at hand without seeming rushed or cut and dry as just a buffer for a John McClane-like action moment. It's not always what's said, compared to how it's portrayed in the face and body language. Mortensen does an authentic job at fleshing out Tom Stall: a man caught between his past and protecting his family in the now. The line "Then we deal with it" about sums up his mild-mannered, spring-to-action demeanor.
This takes a closer look at violence no doubt, though it's also a tale dealing with undercurrents of change, bond, and growth. What makes "A History of Violence" rewatchable, is the filmmaking is more along the lines of a timeless piece—having neither trendy music, catch-phrases, or shameless, I-remember-that advertisements. Cronenberg has a particular directorial style to his films. A knack for conjuring up the surreal and making it seem real when played out in front of your eyes. This is still more rooted in reality over, say, "eXitenZ" of a few years earlier. He's both at the far end of the spectrum of reserved and then effectively point-blank at other times. It can make the experience easy to chew at times, and then hard to swallow at others. What's remarkable is how he can take a basic story about a basic family, and still make it a memorable experience to walk away with.
Rating: 8.5/10
Director: David Cronenberg (Videodrome, Crash, eXistenZ)
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris
Info: IMDB
Trailer: Youtube
Trivia: Reported to be the last film to be printed on VHS by a major studio (on March, 14th 2006).
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