 A
History of Violence
Starring:
Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, Ashton Holmes, William Hurt and Heidi
Hayes
Directed by: David Cronenberg Retro-Viggo
Interview Bluntly
Speaking? A History of Violence's pedigree of cast and crew speaks
for itself really but I suppose I need to write on. When you see William Hurt,
Ed Harris and David Cronenberg in the same list of credits, then you ad Maria
Bello, and Viggo Mortensen, well friend, just skadattle to the theater and broadly
smile as you hand over the monies needed to view - you should not be disappointed. Story
goes…Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is a normal middle America-Dream lovin guy.
He's a small-town fella with a loving family and enough money to live happily
if not bling-blingish. That
is till one day a coupla rats mosey in from a roadkillling spree lookin' for some
fast cash.
They chose Stall's diner to rob. But, these are not just robbers;
they're sadistic nutters that wanna pillage and the like prior to emptying the
kitty. Suddenly,
Tom Stall goes all Rambo on the duo of dastardly deeds… he kills 'em real
good - Cronenberg style, with sprinkles of Tarantino for flavor...
Now,
Mr. Stall's a bonfide local hero - heck an American Hero. This
new-found-fame brings his handsome face to all nooks and crannies of the states
- even Philadelphia…. where an uber-scary mob-sort Mr. Fogarty (Ed Harris)
gets to thinkin' Mr. Stall aint who he says he is at all. Mr. Fogarty thinks Tom's
a palooka by the name of Joey, who hightailed it outta Dodge long ago, leaving
a wake of hate in his dust… Boy
is this small-town in for some east coast style gangster bull.
The story
slowly unfolds and you're kept on pins and needles while you try to figure out
if Tom's Joey, or if there's actually another manly beast this caliber of gorgeous
roaming the countryside, er, urban landscape. Hmm,
the guy is quite good with the gun and all... And
speaking of gorgeous….Viggo
Mortensen. Okay, yes yes yes there's the Cronenberg sex scenes we've all come
accustom too (pardon the gross sounding unavoidable pun) - heck there's even a
smile inducing "bum" shot of El Viggo. But, we mantort lovin' sorts
have to look past the obvious Grade A cut of slow-simmered sweet molasses dipped
slab of grilled mansteak, and slurp up also the lad's talent. By golly, he's a
looker - but, he's also a heck of an actor, and he reminds you here. Maria
Bello. Love this gal. Bella Bello's another beauty with talent. Rent or see basically
anything she's in and you'll be happy. The
boys…. Ed and Will. Sigh. Harris and Hurt can do no wrong. Go ahead - think
- can't find a baddy can ya…Cronenberg and his crew have really made an exciting
retro-styled neo-thriller here, complete with slow shots, grand scenes, dollops
of modern "aaawwweeewwewewe" gore shots, and the fore mentions hot-as-hell
sex scenes. This aint for the kids - even if they be lovin' the King of Middle
Earth - be ye warned. Enjoy.
Snack
recommendation: Meatloaf, peas, carrots and mashed potatoes served with a
slice of humble pie and
perhaps a post coital ciggie...
| 
