Date Posted:18:21:31 10/19/05 Wed Author: The Rhino Subject: A History of Violence
Being the father of a month-old child, my moviegoing practices have come to a halt. It hurts. It really hurts. But it's ultimately worth it. However, there are always windows of opportunity. With a line-up of family and friends wanting to babysit the newborn, we decided to take advantage of a night on the town and saw "A History of Violence".
"Violence" is about a mild-mannered small town Indiana diner owner named Tom Stall (played by Viggo Mortensen). Stall's business is interrupted one evening by a couple of dangerous outsiders (seen earlier killing the staff of a roadside motel) wielding guns and threatening to kill everyone in the diner if cash isn't handed over. In a swift move, Stall gets the upperhand and lays the criminals to waste.
Suddenly, Stall's visage is all over the news, much to his chagrin. Stall comes off as modest but we learn he may be hiding a scary secret. The coverage of his heroic acts brings the menacing Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) to town. Fogarty is seeking vengeance on a man named Joey Cusack and he believes Stall to be that man. Stall's quiet existence is turned over as Fogarty stalks Stall and his family with tales of the secret, violent past of Joey Cusack and the fact that Stall may not be who he seems.
This is an excellent study of what forces a man to act violently. Money, pride, power, humiliation, protection. . . all of these reasons are on display in one fashion or another. For instance, Stall's son, Jack (Ashton Holmes) is bullied so intensely by a school jock that Jack's imminent eruption results in frightening brutality. His father's eruptions result in death.
I highly recommend this film. Save for some early eye-rolling dialogue, this film's script is tight and the results are worthy of your viewing. Great performances by Mortensen, Harris, Holmes and a pleasurable cameo by William Hurt. However, I'm still waiting for a "great" performance by Maria Bello, who plays Stall's wife in the film. She seems to be on the edge of greatness but then ruins it by playing it trite in key scenes. She's got potential and I'm rooting for her. I just hope she turns the corner and knocks a role out of the park in the future.
