A History of Violence | Full Movie | Movies Anywhere

Name: A History of Violence
Released: 2005-9-23
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Ashton Holmes

A History of Violence

R
1h 38m
2005

88%

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In this stylized thriller from director David Cronenberg, Viggo Mortensen stars as Tom McKenna, a well-respected man who leads a quiet, charmed life with his loving wife and family in a small town. But when he kills a robber in self-defense at the diner he runs, Tom is lauded by the national media as a vigilante hero. Unfortunately, the media spotlight also brings him to the attention of some sleazy criminals who recognize Tom as a former associate gone underground. Now, to protect his family from certain peril, Tom must return to his secret past and confront A History of Violence. Also starring Maria Bello, Ed Harris and William Hurt.

Director:

David Cronenberg

Producer:

Chris Bender, J.C. Spink, Toby Emmerich, Justis Greene, Kent Alterman, Cale Boyter, Roger E. Kass, Josh Braun

Writer:

Josh Olson

Cast:

Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Ashton Holmes, Stephen McHattie, Peter MacNeill, Sumela Kay

Rotten Tomatoes® Score

TOMATOMETER®

88%

Critics Consensus: A History of Violence raises compelling and thoughtful questions about the nature of violence, while representing a return to form for director David Cronenberg in one of his more uncharacteristic pieces.

Reviews

Film Frenzy

Matt Brunson

In much the same manner that David Lynch deconstructed the myth of the squeaky-clean small Southern town in Blue Velvet, so too does David Cronenberg take a hatchet to the facade of bland Midwestern homeliness in A History of Violence.

A History of Violence is one of the key films of the first decade of the 21st century.

June 7, 2023

FULL REVIEW

Everything is Horrible (Substack)

Noah Berlatsky

There's something really distasteful about a film that claims to be thinking about the real dangers and costs of violence, and then defaults to the usual lazy dodges to make the audience cheer as their stand-in pushes some guy's nose into his brain.

With A History of Violence, Cronenberg dares us to examine why we enjoy blood and gore so much.

The cast is excellent, especially Harris, steely-eyed and snaky, with William Hurt and Maria Bello...

November 13, 2020

FULL REVIEW