On H List of Movie Reviews
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A History of Violence (2005)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
6/08
6/08:
A History of Violence isn't good as compared to Eastern Promises.
I guess the new rule of cinema is: the more recent his movie is, the less David Cronenberg it feels. For the most part,
A History of Violence is unrefined, poorly handled, and ludicrous. Although the story is reasonably good,
the performances are unconvincing.
Ed Harris steals the film, which is slow pace-wise, by jump-starting the momentum, especially in the first fifteen
minutes. Viggo Mortensen's acting appears improved, but he's not believable enough as Crazy Joey. Maria Bello thinks that
being fully naked is acting and pretending to be an anguished wife is dramatic.
Ashton Holmes, who plays the teenage son, doesn't look like he belongs in the family, and Heidi Hayes is the daughter who
turns to be the least developed character. William Hurt is overrated. Hell, how many scenes is he in anyway? And for
how long? Jeez, what a joke to give him an Oscar nomination.
The angry sex scene on the stairs is pointless, and the tension between Tom Stall and his wife is shallow. So, Tom,
who looks out of shape, runs from the town to his house which must be ten miles long. He does all of this in long
sleeves and long pants with a stabbed foot and wrong shoes. And the whole time, he isn't shown sweaty for a second?
All in all, A History of Violence is rubbish.