A History Of Violence "Tell me the Truth"

 This is one of those movies that when it came out, I thought that it looked awful. I wasn't the biggest Viggo Mortensen fan and I didn't even know who David Cronenberg was. But that was a long time ago and I am completely different. Recently I have become a Cronenberg fan after The Fly, Videodrome, and especially eXistenZ. So I needed to check this movie out to see if it was as good as some critics had been saying.

A History Of Violence is about Tom Stall, played by Viggo Mortensen, an average all-American husband and father who is living a life of normalcy with his wife played by Maria Bello. Tom's life gets hit with a shock wave after he saves his restaurant from criminals and becomes a local hero. Suddenly mysterious men show up in the small town and claim that Tom is not all that he seems to be. Tom's life is turned upside down and his wife must figure out the truth about her husband, his past, and who he really is. Is Tom Stall someone else? Is his life a lie? Read on to find out. Beware spoilers.

This movie has a great cast combined with strong direction from David Cronenberg. Mortensen and Bello shine as a married couple dealing with criminals and obsession from dangerous people. They were able to portray realistically the typical American couple. After watching this movie form 30 minutes you feel like you know this couple. You know someone like them, or possibly you are that couple. I will go more into this relationship later.

While Cronenberg has always shined since the late 70s, this movie shows Cronenberg's diversity, if that makes sense. Some people try to call out Cronenberg for being gross and gory more than being smart. I, being a huge fan of Cronenberg, always try to argue against them and now I can use this film as a great example of Cronenberg pulling back and knowing what to do for this movie. He does show his classic gore in some shots, but for the most part he lets this flick become character driven. He builds up this film for us to know and care about this film. We slowly learn more and more about them and we feel like we know them. It great because as soon as we get situated with this family is when everything turns upside down. I also highly respect Cronenberg's guts because he is always pushing boundaries and the audience to new limits. This time both with gore and eroticism, sex in this movie is a very pivotal mark for reflection and a change in Tom and his wife's relationship. Cronenberg also had a great cinematographer in Peter Suschitzky who did phenomenal with the lighting.

Before I start with spoilers I would like to say that this movie was highly enjoyable. It did have some nice action spots but it didn't control the film. This film was controlled by the characters and this family who this film revolves around. Its definitely a film to watch, now go watch it before you read on.

This movie is really all about how do you react to someone who turns out to be a lie. The big twist in this movie is that Tom Stalls is not all that he appears to be, we learn that the mysterious men have been right and Tom used to be a killer. He moved to this small town to escape it all. And it raises a good question, what do you do when you have built your whole life around a lie? Also, can you erase your past? This movie really explores both issues through Mortensen and Bello. Their relationship drives the film and makes people question their own relationship. I think this film gives some answers but also leaves enough room for people to question their own life. The movie obviously says that you cannot erase your past, but are you willing to forget it for someone you love?

Now I know this review has been all over the place but this movie was highly enjoyable. I really enjoyed it as a character study. I enjoyed thinking about these people and thinking about my own friends and family. Its a really well done film but remember it is not an action movie and a character study. Well done for film lovers. 4 out of 5 stars.