A History of Violence: CRAP

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

The story of a man with a violent past who is trying to live a normal life. His average joe lifestyle is soon put in peril when his past catches up with him. He must then resort to the violence that he once buried.

First off, Uniforgiven called, it wants its concept back. However, don't let the mention of an incredible work of filmmaking make you think that The History of Violence stands up to the brilliance that is Unforgiven.

This movie lacks in everything that made Unforgiven so incredible. The characters flat line the entire time. There is not one solid bit of character development; and when there is an attempt, it is so bland and unoriginal it makes me want to hurl. The high school, the wife, the sheriff, the town, the son, the mysterious mafia man, the confrontation with the brother. All of these elements were pulled out of the pits of a "Screenwriting for Dummies" book. Sure, Vigo and Harris both do great jobs acting, but they are fantastic actors, you can't expect less.

This is a movie where the family dynamic is key. Yet both the kids are useless filler. The son is involved in a pointless struggle at school with a bully and the daughter doesn't say a word. "Signs" for example, is a movie where family dynamic is the focal point and the dynamic is presented effectively.

The violence is there, but it is mere candy. Just because they show a guy's brain being splattered everywhere doesn't mean the moment made the audience FEEL! That a guy's brain has just been splattered. It is over done, it is gratuitous and it has no substance. It is said that we as a culture are being desensitized to violence. I disagree, after seeing this movie; I can safely say I am desensitized to poorly filmed violence.

Braveheart is an ultra violent movie. It is 3 hours of limbs being torn from limbs and skulls being crushed. Yet, its last scene of violence is its most powerful. It is also it’s most gruesome. However, Mel Gibson as a director chooses to show Wallace's face instead of his guts. By the end of the movie, you are so captivated with the character of Wallace; it is him you are feeling for, not the gross out factor of his guts being torn to pieces. The History of Violence instead chooses to show you the guts, instead of giving you one decent character to truly feel about.

This movie also boasts the poorest attempt at a confrontation between nemeses’s ever filmed. The concept of these two brothers finally being in the same room after all these years should be suspenseful. This scene is so lame that there is not one glimmer of tension. Not one second of suspense.

When a jazz musician uses formula and worn out patterns instead of gut feeling and heart during a solo he is "wanking". The History of Violence is "wanking" at its absolute worst.

Edited November 8, 2005 by Guest

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

for those that read before the edit...i apologize. hahaha.

[Jay Funk Dawg]

I kinda liked it. I got a ghetto DVD copy from Kensington Market, and saw it at home.

I thought it was alright.

[Jaimoe]

First off, Unforgiven called, it wants its concept back.

Are you serious with that line? Unforgiven is hardly an original western. Unforgiven is no different than dozens of films from various types of genres, from great westerns of the past to film noir to Kurosawa samurai films to Hitchcock etc...

As for A History Of Violence being " Crap ", I couldn't disagree more.

I think I disagree with every one of your criticisms, although I do think that some of the characters suffer from typical Cronenberg stiff acting - like the son and the local policeman.

Cronenberg films often polarize audiences and this is his most accessible film since The Fly.

If I could touch on a few scenes I found interesting: I think the finale is fascinating in the sense that Cronenberg doesn't use a standard Hollywood ending. What, should the two protagonists fight to the death on a mountaintop or die in a flaming car chase? This wouldn't make sense given their relationship. Joey knew the outcome of their end meeting beforehand. He probably envisioned the scenario for many years. Joey knew what he had to do.

I found the relationship between Edie ( Maria Bello ) and Tom ( Viggo ) interesting. Not only do we get to see realistic, non-Hollywood sex between a married couple of twenty years, we eventually see Edie questioning whom this man she married actually is. After the diner incident, she starts to realize that she has no idea who this man is she married. When they have sex on the stairs, Edie is having sex with a stranger, and it excites and repulses her.

Cronenberg films are not easy. Some on the surface may seem absurd, but there's always more going on than meets the eye. His use of violence, sex, horror, dark characters and themes are calculated, but clearly not everyone's cup of tea. A History Of Violence is an excellent film but one that isn't for everyone.

[Booche]

I find it interesting that I am 50/50 on whether Jaimoe actually has seen this movie.

[Bennyd]

I’m with jaydawg "liked it"

I also agree that Unforgivin is totally not original.

Braveheart...... Please, you can do better than that.

[dancingbear]

history of violence, was awful.

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

its crap...cammon.

the movie has way to many flaws to be considered good.

the fact that this movie is so well praised shows that people have really lowered their standards.

I was ramped up for this for no other reason than it's Cronenberg. I love all of his work. I count Naked Lunch as one of my favorite films on the short list. I love Crash; Spider; eXistenZ; M. Butterfly, Dead Ringers; The Fly; The Dead Zone; Videodrome; Scanners. But A History of Violence had none of the quirky intelligence and subtle charm of his work. It seemed as though a teenager had written this story, someone who had no working knowledge of any sort of life at all. I saw in the credits this was based on a graphic novel and that may explain some of this. I recognized several of the shots as decidedly comic book-esque and that doesn't pain me at all. It's the simple-minded, plain and dumb way that all the rest of the story is put together and explained. I hate to harp on this, but this seemed like another movie made for dumb people. There IS a brilliant idea here, you know, the ex-mafia guy who starts life over again as the world's dullest person, raises a family, opens a diner, etc. But that brilliant idea and this shitty movie don't speak the same language. Indeed, this movie seems written by someone alien to the human condition. All the scenes that actually include the teenager of the story are particularly insipid and smack of a weaker, smaller person confronting the bullies of his past in the only way he can: in "graphic novel" comic book form-made movie. The character behaves as though the wimp inside the writer wishes he had and it's ridiculous, as is the response by the other teenagers, the bully included. There are other scenes just as bad, those of the family huddled around the young daughter after she's had a bad dream, soothing and reassuring her. Again, if you knew nothing of life and love and family, this would seem as though this is how people behave. No, you're still a psychically wounded teenager combining your fascination with violence and death and the ammorality of the mafia with an idyllic family life you've never known. This is so transparent as to be obvious and dull. THIS is how you show a loving family? THIS is how you demonstrate a bully? Are you sure about that? It seems very much like first-draft stuff. Like an afterschool special or movie-of-the-week.

Edited November 8, 2005 by Guest

[gentlemonkey]

what was definitley bad was Viggo's promotional visit to the Daily Show.. What was with the rubber snakes? it was weird.

[Freeker]

Yeah what was that about? Best part of that interview was Steven Cobert askings freeky obsessed fan-boy LOTR questions of Viggo. You could tell it wasn't bit.

PS- Dima totally disagree wih you

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

^^^

oh yeah?!?!?!

well eat my shorts.

[Tenenbaum]

the movie put me to sleep; big disapointment!

[Jay Funk Dawg]

eXistenZ now that movie was crap!

like what was the plot?