A History of Violence on DVD (2005)

* * * This review contains spoilers * * *

Paul from London , 30/10/2005

..if this is really the best that is coming out of Hollywood then we're in dire straits.

Cronenberg's film combines a simplistic and unconvincing plot with an emotionless and frankly disturbing fascination with violence that never seeks to look beneath the surface of the issues that it purports to explore.

A bland American family have their lives turned upside down when a former mobster, now seeking to live the American dream for reasons that we are never able to fathom, is reconnected with his former past by a chance encounter with a pair of itinerant sociopaths.

As our mobster-turned-pillar-of-the-community is forced to confront characters from his violent past, he kills off the baddies in a style that would not put Bruce Lee to shame. We learn nothing of his emotional state, there is no exploration of how his family make sense of his terrible past and, in a truly cringing ending, are left with the idea that, in America, murderous violence goes unchallenged as long as it does not impact on everyday life.

If you are a 'how many killings?' viewer then this might be for you..otherwise look elsewhere if you want to be challenged, moved or enlightened. Believe me, this is no commentary on the roots or consequences of underground violence.

  114 out of 147 people found this review helpful

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Pittsey from Berkshire , 05/10/2005

When I sat down in the cinema I didn't know what to expect from this film. All I knew was that Ed Harris and someone from Lord Of The Rings was starring in it. I'll admit I was sceptical, but how wrong I was.

While this is not the greatest film I've ever seen it is certainly one of the best I've seen in the cinema for a while, and certainly good enough for me to pre-order the DVD when it becomes available.

It was well written, well directed by David Cronenberg and was very well cast. Viggo Mortensen was outstanding in the lead role, and Ed Harris exceptional as the sinister bad guy, as always.

For those who are easily shocked be warned, the sex scenes and the violence is very graphic.

But if you are after a slick, intelligent film that gives you a break from the usual Hollywood action movie nonsense, then this is for you.

  100 out of 119 people found this review helpful

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Jammbo from Leeds , 24/10/2005

The central idea of the film is excellent. It could have been an excellent film and in places it was. The coreography and special effects in the fight scenes where excellent. But the crisp and fast moving violent only served as a reminder of how slowly the plot unfolds.

I was frustrated by how underdeveloped the characters where. I felt no sympathy for the central family, who where creepily nice and idilic. I got to a point where I was hoping that something terrible would happen to them, just so the smugness of the family unit could be wiped away.

Ed Harris was the only person to come out of this film with any credit. He played the vilan to perfection and it was a shame the rest of the film was a let down.

I think that the violent sex scene was offensive and wrecklessly poor.I felt let down walking away from the cinema - too much of the story is vague and unengaging. I think Cronenberg has let himself slip from his previously high standards. If you want to see a better example of his work watch Crash - which truely deseverved the excellent reviews it received... whereas History of Violence was a major letdown.

  46 out of 69 people found this review helpful

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Gromit from Canterbury , 26/04/2006

First off, this film is a lot better than the awful title suggests. My 5 year old nephew could come up with a better title than that! But at the same time, its lacking in real substance and character development. The first half is interesting and flowed along nicely, but I found the second half to be just a bit...well...weird. There is no real explanation as to what is going on and I feel that this could have been a truly great film if they'd simply spent a bit longer developing the main characters. Overall, its ok. Worth a watch, but it really just sums up the poor quality of movies that 2005 produced.

  26 out of 29 people found this review helpful

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A customer from Kent , 19/08/2007

A guy is chased by the bad guys and he kills them.

Then the bad guys' bosses come looking and they're really bad but he kills them too.

Then the really, really bad guys come and guess what?

No, you're right. I didn't care what happened either.

This is a truly terrible film with a lame script and half an hour of utter boredom in between each of the pointless killings.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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A customer from Bolton , 29/02/2008

A good watch if you have nothing better to do but I wouldnt recommend it

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

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