A History of Violence

The reality (perhaps the tragedy?) of a movie like A History of Violence is that the subtleties and the depth will be lost on most audiences. A few years from now, college students might be studying this film for its visceral commentary on American gun culture and the mesmerizing relationship between violence and sexuality-but in your local cinema, instead of intellectual fascination, you'll hear more than a handful of awkward laughs and a resounding question mark. That's not to say there's not a huge upside to this movie.

French-Canadian shock specialist Dave "Deprave" Cronenberg directs. This will be the first (and maybe the last) film that will get the kind of exposure his brand of horrifying creativity and originality warrants. Viggo Mortensen (best known as Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings trilogy) stars as Tom Stall, who's living in small town bliss as the owner/operator of a Podunk diner, complete with smoking hot wife, Edie (played by an impressive Maria Bello).

Unfortunately, the idyllic life that Cronenberg takes his sweet time establishing is a little over the top. The whole Heartland of America thing quickly gets nauseating (even the obnoxious bully is ridiculously cliched). Cronenberg's better judgment reveals itself when Tom and Edie's kinky sex getaway is framed as a wholesome way to maintain the spice in their perfect marriage-so what's with the camera dwelling on the oral sex warm-up? How about the gratuitous 69 shot? Cronenberg forces the viewer to be a voyeur (which is pretty cool, don't get me wrong) but it's an extremely uncomfortable moment for anyone who can't recognize exactly what Cronenberg is doing.

But things get really interesting when a pair of thugs show up out of nowhere to rob the diner. Tom whips out some nifty gunwork and regulates like whoa all over the bad guys. He's suddenly a hero, but now everyone starts wondering how a golden retriever like Tom Stall could turn into a pit bull in an instant. Eyebrows get raised higher when three mobsters from Philly wander into the diner (led by a creepy Ed Harris) and claim that Tom is not who he says he is and that his history has a little more violence (ba-dum ching) than he let on.

If you let it, A History of Violence will get you thinking in a way that most mainstream films can't. (Look out for the scene on the staircase and try to figure that one out.) On the whole, Cronenberg has created something sexy, smart, and rather disturbing, but don't go anywhere near it if you're not ready for a challenge.