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Movie Review
A History of Violence

Production Company: New Line Cinema
Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Viggo Mortenson, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt
Rating: R (graphic violence, nudity and sexuality)

By Gregg Tubbs

Shocking, provocative, gut-wrenching and troubling—these all describe Director David Cronenberg’s daring new film, A History of Violence. Cronenberg, famous for his visually disgusting, yet mesmerizing update of The Fly, again challenges our sensibilities with a film that is at times hard to take, yet riveting. As with The Fly, he again explores the theme of transformation, but this time around, it’s not science gone haywire, but the brutally transformative power of a single act of violence—how it perverts, distorts, multiplies and yet fascinates all the same.


When two vicious drifters hold up the diner and threaten to shoot a waitress, Tom (Viggo Mortensen) kills them with surprising efficiency. Copyright © 2005 New Line Cinema
First a warning! This is violence “straight-up”—not sanitized, glorified, or choreographed into Kung Fu ballet. Cronenberg dares us to stare the ugly, brutal consequences of violence in the eye—bloody, stomach-turning, flesh-rending violence. But most of all, he dares us to think and question. Are we hard-wired for violence? Is American culture in love with the alpha-male man of action? What role do entertainment and the media play in fueling and glorifying violence? When is the use of violence justified (or is it ever)? How is the predisposition to violence passed from one generation to another?

We explore all these issues as a sudden act of violence alters the course of an “ideal” American family. Viggo Mortensen plays small-town diner owner Tom Stall, who along with his wife Edie (Maria Bello) and two kids, enjoys a life of middle-class American bliss. When two vicious drifters hold up the diner and threaten to shoot a waitress, Tom kills them with surprising efficiency. The media celebrates Tom as an “American Hero” for his bravery. Every day, his diner fills with locals and tourists who want to meet the hero. Tom and Edie even enjoy the increased business and fame, until a trio of sinister strangers show up, claiming to know Tom by a different name and from a darker past.


A trio of sinister strangers (Ed Harris as Carl Fogarty) show up after the shooting, claiming to know Tom by a different name and from a darker past. Copyright © 2005 New Line Cinema
At first, the Stalls dismiss the strangers as confused hero seekers, until their actions become more threatening, and their stories begin to instill doubt in Edie and the local sheriff. “Ask your husband, why he’s so good at killing people,” says one them, played with creepy menace by Ed Harris. They begin to wonder: who is Tom Stall, why do the strangers insist that his name is Joey, and how could he so effortlessly kill two armed men? As the questions mount, fissures of doubt and suspicion begin to threaten their idyllic existence. Tom is forced to face his past and a life built on lies.

The film really revolves around four critical scenes—two of shocking, graphic violence and two of fairly graphic and deeply revealing lovemaking between Tom and Edie. The violent scenes are the catalysts that send off destructive ripples through the family, but the sex scenes truly reveal the effects of the violence. Before the killings in the diner, we see a healthy, entirely positive act of lovemaking—a total reflection of a loving, trusting relationship. The sex scene that follows the two incidents of violence is more like an act of violence itself—hateful, selfish and entirely negative—echoing the deterioration of the Stall’s marriage.

 
At first, Tom (Viggo Mortensen) and Edie (Maria Bello) dismiss the strangers as confused hero seekers, until their actions become more threatening and their stories begin to instill doubt in Edie. Copyright © 2005 New Line Cinema
In typical Cronenberg fashion, he uses the extremes of sex and violence, not to exploit them for entertainment, but to force us to test the limits of our sensibilities and question our attitudes. When I saw the film, at least one couple left the theatre, but I won’t say whether it was during the sex or the violence. A History of Violence is very much a tragedy, about a once-wicked man trying desperately to shed his old life and become the good man he wants to be.  It also shows the terrible cycle of how violence is passed from one generation to another. Goaded on by schoolmates who say he should be the hero his father is, Tom’s son savagely beats a bully who has harassed him. The message seems to be that, in our violence-soaked culture, to be a hero, you must be a man of action and violence. It’s the cowboy ethos turned on its ear. Fifty years ago, this could have been a coming of age story—a rancher’s son finally becoming a man. But here it is a story of a tragic loss of innocence that leaves both father and son shaken and forever changed.

A History of Violence is not for everyone, but it is very good, deeply moving and thought provoking. Most importantly, it shows that violence—even justified violence—once unleashed, is very, very hard to put back in its bottle.

Gregg Tubbs is a freelance writer living in Columbia, Md.

This review was developed by UMC.org, the official online ministry of The United Methodist Church.

Group Study Guide

A History of Violence

Study Questions

  • Did you find the violence of this film too intense? Why or why not?
  • Does realistically portraying violence help counteract desensitization to violence in the media or does it increase desensitization?
  • Who do you feel changed most over the course of the film?
  • Some have called this film a “dark comedy.” Did you see any comedic elements? How about when the film shifts to Philadelphia?
  • At what point did you begin to believe that Tom was not who he seemed? Why?
  • Do you think Tom was a hero after the killing in the diner? Do you think he enjoyed the attention?
  • What would you have done in Tom’s shoes? In the diner? In the yard? How would your faith influence your decision?
  • If you were Edie, could you forgive Tom? Could you trust him?
  • Was it better for Tom’s son to fight with the bully? Did he go too far?
  • What do you think the future would hold for the Stall family? Do you think violence can end violence? (See Matt. 26:52)

Group Activities

A Culture of Violence? Supply the members of your group with paper and pens. Ask each member to list his or her five favorite movies, five favorite TV shows, and five favorite movie and TV actors. Remind them to be honest and not list what they might think are the “appropriate” choices. Compare the lists. How many of the films or TV shows could be considered action or violence oriented? Compare the lists of TV and movie stars. How many are associated with action or violence? Finally, discuss whether the media fuels an infatuation with violence. To what extent does your group believe A History of Violence explores or exposes our fascination with violence? To what extent is the film about us and our attitudes?

Biblical Violence: If it were a movie, parts of the Bible could possibly be “Rated R” for violence. Divide your group into small teams. Give each team a Bible and ask the team to find at least five incidents of violence or killing (excluding warfare). Explore this violence. What is its nature? Is it justified? How do you define “justified violence?” What guidance does the Bible give regarding violence and killing? (See, for example, the 10 Commandments and the Golden Rule.)
 
Here are some violent stories and parables your group should be able to find:

  • Cain murders Abel (Genesis 4:1-15)
  • David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17)
  • Parable of the tenants (Luke 20:9-19)
  • Vengeance of Samson (Judges 15)
  • Beheading of John the Baptist (Mark 6:21-29)
  • Peter cuts off Centurion’s ear (John 18)

Role Play: Create cards, each containing the name of a character in the movie and one of her or his important actions. Example: Name-Edie, Action-Covers for Tom to Sheriff; Name: Tom/Joey, Action: Kills brother. Draw cards from a hat and have each member of your group assume the role of the character whose card they draw. Then briefly describe to the rest of the group why you believe your character acted this way. Explore the characters more by reshuffling the cards and playing additional rounds or by adding new actions to the character cards.