A History Of Violence
2 ratings since posting on Thursday, October 6, 2005
|
in Everywhere
website
|
Overall Rating  based on 2 ratings |
|
|
Advertisement
|
|||
 a GREAT sotry with GREAT cinematography. Every time something went down, you could hear everyone in the theater sayin' OH SHIT!! OH MY GOD...WHAT THE..? Those who would cite the graphic depictions of gunfights, etc. ought to ask themselves if they've ever stepped back and taken a good look at our society and this protracted war we're locked into. - amir , posted 01/29/06 |
|
Unsu...
|
Ha, now this film was truly amazing. Director David Cronenberg pulled out all the stops to make a film that was revealed to be as two-faced as the antagonist supposedly was. In reality, everything about the film speaks to the nature and passion of one man's spirit. Essentially, the film is best consumed on two seperate levels...Let's call those Perspective 1 and Perspective 2. Perspective 1: The American view. A History Of Violence (hereafter referred to as AHOV) is a typically average Hollywood-style film about the mob, guns and violence. Seems Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) has led a double life. A one-time mobster who relocated to the midwest to create a fresh life, things come crashing down for Stall when two thugs attempt to rob his family restaurant. Stall goes apeshit and snatches the life right from the two cold-blooded killers. Enter Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris), who after presumably hearing about Stall's heroics on TV, rushes to confront the family man to get revenge. Believing Stall to be Philly gangster Joey Cusack, Fogarty attempts to gain revenge but is instead dealt the same fate as Stall goes apeshit again on those that threaten his idyllic life. Enough is enough, Stall confesses to his beautiful wife that he is indeed Joey Fogarty and then travels back to Philly to confront the rest of the mob who he knows will seek revenge. For the third time in the movie, Stall/Joey goes apeshit and deals with the Philly mob using the same violence they brought to him. By the time the carnage is cleared, Stall has taken out every bad dude that threatened him and returns home to his Midwestern wife/life and everyone is happy. Roll credits. With nods to the remake of Cape Fear and Road To Perdition, A History Of Violence is a satisfying and gratuitously violent American gangster film (albeit helmed by a Canadian). Perspective 2: Madness. Tom Stall was never Joey Cusack. Fogarty sought out Tom Stall because Stall's initial act of violence, the murder of two wanted felons in an act of self-defense, was so shocking to the warrior soul of Fogarty that he sought to kill Stall in order to eliminate a man who was clearly tougher/faster/more cunning with a gun than him. The presence of so much power in Stall demanded that Fogarty seek out and destroy him. Once Stall knew that he was wrapped up in something serious, he stopped playing defense and started taking care of business. Remember the incredibly hot sex scene when Stall's wife Edie (Mario Bello) was wearing the cheerleader outfit? The passionate sex between the two of them essentially began a level of role-playing that didn't end until Stall had ended the chain of violence that was brought into his world with some equally brutal acts of violence. Stall was never Joey Cusack but the instinct to protect his loved ones and the strong sexual bond that was created (perhaps rekindled?) at the beginning of the film clearly unlocked something within Stall. Stall carried through with the role-playing until his entire family was safe. Perspective 3: Okay so I didn't warn you about the third perspective but this one is cool. The Christian perspective. The throwing of the gun in the lake and the washing scene immediately after the final shootout were telling in that blatant Southern Baptism kinda-way. The prominence of the crosses both Stall and his wife wore, the mention of being "born-again" along with the black funeral garb worn during the reincarnation of Stall after the Philly mess all seek to provide a strong message of Christian values and imagery. Again, the throwing of the gun into the lake is key as Stall believes his faith is the only true power he needs. Certainly a different message than that which is sometimes sent to us overwhelmingly from contemporary media. - Unsubscribed , posted 10/06/05 |
A History Of Violence was recommended for:
- Tribe: Los Angeles
- Tribe: ~WasSaBi CoLLEcTIvE~
- Tribe: Toronto Underground
- Tribe: Vancouver
- Tribe: Toronto
- Tribe: sfbay
- Tribe: Kensington Market
- Tribe: Washington DC
- Tribe: Media Whores
