Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: A History of Violence (2005) - Cronenberg's powerful rumination of our violence

8/15/2013

A History of Violence (2005) - Cronenberg's powerful rumination of our violence

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Indiana Movie of the Year

Maria Bello and husband Viggo Mortensen are faced with a man threatening them with a gun on this ominous poster for David Cronenberg's A History of Violence

Tom Stall and his wife run a diner in a quiet Indiana town, when a duo of thugs roll in and an instinctive act of heroism turns Stall's life upside down.

Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic (2016)) plays the intriguing character of Tom Stall in this country-set thriller; a character which made me speculate just how much a person can really put behind himself mentally and still go on?
A History of Violence is a clever film that will make different audiences ruminate about several different things. It is written by Josh Olson (Infested (2002)), based on the 1997 same-titled graphic novel by John Wagner (Chain Gang War (1993-94)) and Vince Locke (Judge Dredd (2007-08)), and directed by great Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg (Scanners (1981)).
The clouds of mystery and unknowing are thick here. The strong cast also includes an amazingly mean-playing William Hurt (Beautiful Ohio (2006)), intense Maria Bello (Abduction (2011)) and Ed Harris (Man on a Ledge (2012)) in a performance that is likely to make the little hairs in your neck stand on end.
The opening scene of the film with the cicadas as a compelling soundscape is as intense as the scenes of violence that follow, which are, very appropriately, it seems, dirty and Cronenbergian in their focus on horrific details, and they make a stark and nice contrast to the idyllic small town mentality that is the setting. A History of Violence is a great film.

Related posts:

David Cronenberg: Cosmopolis (2012) - Cronenberg/DeLillo/Pattinson's speculative limo lullaby
A Dangerous Method (2011) - Cronenberg's rather disappointing waltz with the fathers of modern psychology
Eastern Promises (2007) - Cronenberg invites us to meet the Russian mob in London

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Spider (2002) - Cronenberg takes us to the tormented (and slightly dull) mind of a schizophrenic
Existenz/eXistenZ (1999) - Cronenberg's 1990s-flavored VR nonsense
Dead Ringers (1988) or, Brothers and Their Instruments
The Dead Zone (1983) - Eerie sci-fi/horror King-adaptation
The Brood (1979) or, Marital Fury and Craze!

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 32 mil. $
Box office: 60.7 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.89 times its cost)
[A History of Violence premiered 16 May (Cannes) and runs 96 minutes. Filming took place in Ontario, Canada, including in Toronto, from August - November 2004. The US and European versions of the film differ slightly, with the European version having a bit more gore. The film opened #18 to a strong 515k $ first weekend in 14 theaters (a 36k $ average) in North America, where it widened to peak at #4, behind Flightplan, Serenity and Corpse Bride, the following week with 8.1 mil. $ in 1,340 theaters, leaving the top 5 again thereafter and ended up grossing 31.5 mil. $ (51.9 % of the total gross) domestically. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 6.7 mil. $ (11 %) and France with 4.1 mil. $ (6.8 %). Its theatrical performance stands at the threshold of the less dire, mere 'flop' status, and the film has likely made a profit with later TV rights and video sales. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, equal to its rating here. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Supporting Actor (Hurt), lost to George Clooney for Syriana, and Best Adapted Screenplay, lost to Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana for Brokeback Mountain. It was also nominated for 2 Golden Globes, a BAFTA, won AFI's Movie of the Year Award, was nominated for a César award, a David di Donatello award, and won a National Board of Review award as well as many other honors. Cronenberg returned with a segment in To Each His Own Cinema (2007) and theatrically with Eastern Promises (2007). Mortensen returned in Captain Alatriste: The Spanish Musketeer/Alatriste (2006); Bello in The Dark (2005); Harris in Empire Falls (2005, miniseries) and theatrically in Winter Passing (2005); and Hurt in Hunt for Justice (2005, TV movie) and theatrically in Neverwas (2005). A History of Violence is certified fresh at 87 % with a 7.87/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of A History of Violence?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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8/15/2013

A History of Violence (2005) - Cronenberg's powerful rumination of our violence

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