A History of Violence

David Cronenberg

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2.50

A History of Violence

Synopsis

An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.

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Cast

Viggo MortensenTom Stall / Joey Cusack
Maria BelloEdie Stall
Ed HarrisCarl Fogarty
William HurtRichie Cusack
Ashton HolmesJack Stall
Peter MacNeillSheriff Sam Carney
Stephen McHattieLeland
Greg BrykBilly
Kyle SchmidBobby
Sumela KayJudy Danvers

Recommendations

100
Rolling Stone
Other films this year will have to sweat bullets to match the explosive power and subversive wit of David Cronenberg's A History of Violence. It slams you like a body punch and then starts messing with your head.
90
L.A. Weekly
Cronenberg holds up a mirror, but he leaves it up to us to recoil at what we see.
90
Village Voice
Cronenberg's movie manages to have its cake and eat it--impersonating an action flick in its staccato mayhem while questioning these violent attractions every step of the way.
88
Philadelphia Inquirer
Cronenberg's movie is eerily compelling and darkly humorous. And chilling - to the bone.
80
The Hollywood Reporter
Clever and fast-paced thriller.
80
Time
It turns a hot topic into a pretty cool entertainment--one that satisfies the viewers' need for righteous revenge while leaving them a queasy little question on the way out: Does gun diplomacy make sense only in movies? Or do Americans want it to play out in real life?
80
The A.V. Club
Ed Harris and William Hurt deliver inspired turns as the villains.
75
Chicago Tribune
If this all sounds very heavy, well, it is, but it's also very, very funny. Cronenberg may want to say something important about violence, but he's also head over heels for it, ending each gunfight and neck-breaking with a close-up on the victim, blood either pooling behind his head or brains spilling from his face. Big laughs.