My History With Violence

Alright, as Lori was saying, it's been a whirlwind weekend packed with movies. Lori may not be a Mapquest, but I've certainly had to visit upon Mapquest quiet often to find all these theatres we've been attending.

This is my first attempt at a review since I was in college, but it's more of a comment, really. I prefer commenting as it's less of a commitment. And of course, here's the obligatory warning: Beware of spoilers!

When I initially saw the trailer for A History of Violence, I became a little violent myself.

Increasingly over the years, trailers have spoiled movies for me, even good movies. They introduce all the characters, the villains, the heroes, and then show the entire story arc all the way through act III, even hinting at important plot twists.

And the trailer for A History of Violence was no different. This, however, should not be a reason to avoid this movie. Given, we've seen this story before, as it's quite similar to The Return of Martin Guerre (remade as Richard Gere's Sommersby), but with a few important differences. We find a man living another life, a different life, one suiting him better than his previous incarnation. But as the title alludes to, there is no escaping one's past.

The success of this movie lies in how it's presented. The protagonist and his antagonists propel the story with dialogue and good old fashioned acting, creating a realistic mood and tension. The Director, David Cronenberg, was smart enough to get out of the way of its actors, shooting scenes in an indieflick and minimalist fashion, leaving out the normal editing tools of manipulation and 'movie magic' such as background music, fast cutting, and odd camera angles. Instead, he's created a gritty film, much like Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, involving us emotionally as it unfolds.

Part of the reason the movie works so well it that it moves swiftly, clocking in at an hour and a half in length. Movies can often be too long, but this seemed to be the perfect time for the material involved.

Viggo Mortensen does a marvelous job, and it's hard imagining anyone else who would have been as effective playing two different characters so convincingly. It's been said a person lies with his eyes, and so I suppose that goes for telling the truth as well. Mortensen acts with his eyes, and gives nothing away with his facial expressions in early scenes, believing himself to be who he says he is.

Maria Bello turns in a superb supporting effort, playing an emotionally competent character here, as she often does. She is an intense actress, and that intensity is very believable as a confused and deceived spouse. Ed Harris and William Hurt also turn in exceptional supporting performances, stealing each scene in which they appear. And that's another reason this movie works -- it's not carried by one performer, but rather by an entire cast, each providing the appropriate impact to drive the protagonist further along a path he believed long abandoned.

Some may feel this movie may be a bit too gratuitous, and I did feel a couple scenes were a bit over the top, but I think that this is in part the message of the movie: Isn't violence gratuitous by definition? Society must depict violence as an unnecessary evil to enforce civility, or the illusion of civility. But as we try to bury it, even ignore it, we do so at our own peril as it's often counterproductive to dealing with it appropriately.

This movie got me thinking about two things:

One, our potential for varying degrees of violence is always somewhere within our primordial selves, and it's crucial we recognize that in order to deal with it effectively, or more importantly, forgive ourselves for indulging it.

And two, "as the book says, we might be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us."

-Eric