A History of Violence

If you expect A History of Violence to be a typical Hollywood mindless shoot-em-up, you’re going to be disappointed. But you might just be the audience that would get the most out of the film anyway.

David Cronenberg’s thriller is violent, but more important than the fight sequences are their consequences for Tom Stall and the characters, each of whom changes over the course of the film as a result of being part of it, or merely witnessing it.

The question of identity, both the one a person is born to and the one they create for themselves as an adult, is the other central theme, specifically the question of which is real. When faced with the revelation that she may not know the whole truth of who her husband is, Edie Stall has to figure out if she still loves her husband and how she feels about that realization.

The film does not wrap things up into a tidy little bow: Unlike most movies, the violence done in the film does not end in a satisfying way and we know that the consequences of what happened will continue, for all of the characters, for the rest of their lives.

A strongly recommended adult (in the true sense of the word) film.

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