This movie takes Norman Rockwell’s America and matures it into a force to be reckoned with. The plot follows mild-mannered, small-town diner owner Tom Stall (Viggo Mortenson) through the repercussions of his heroic act of violence (trying to keep it general here; apologies for the poor writing).
Cronenberg utilizes wide-angle lenses to give context to every character and shot. He brings the violence right into your face, occurring like it does in real life: quickly and without warning. The film chooses to focus on the effects of violent acts on Tom, his family, and the bodies (it does have that familiar Cronenberg gore aspect).
But the truth is, History of Violence takes on so many aspects of society (a simple read through of reviews and analyses gives you an idea of just how many ways to read into this movie there are) and manages to pull off a superb piece of cinema to boot. Truly, Cronenberg the auteur at his best.
Eastern Promises is a nice companion piece to Cronenberg’s previous Eastern Promises; both focus on the effects of violence on a community (granted, their scopes are pretty different) and feature Viggo Mortenson prominently in a similar role of a man swathed in violence. The movies both beautifully play off the withholding of information (hence the ambiguity here; seriously, it’s killing me).
While the in your face violence is minimal (it is still Cronenberg, and there is the (now) infamous bathhouse scene; so gore freaks fear not!) the atrocity of the whole situation is still driven home; largely by voice over work done by Tatiana Maslany (who I don’t know from anything else, but was apparently in The Vow?)—perhaps one of the most notable uses of voiceover in a movie since The Shawshank Redemption.
This is another a masterfully crafted film in the pair-up between Mortenson and Cronenberg. Save yourself the mental labor that is A Dangerous Method (not in a good way (I’m lookin’ at you Memento)) and just pop this one in for a truly good time.
Pulp Diction 